Storieo

Author: Prerna Kumari

  • A DECISION THAT WAS NOT HIS

    A DECISION THAT WAS NOT HIS

    This story is all about a boy who wanted to make his parents happy and in the course of doing so, he took a decision which not only made him suffer but also his parents. There is also a concept of lack of communication between parents and child is shown. Had the boy told the parents about his ambitions, the situation could have been better.

     

    The alarm clock rings at 6:00 a.m. but Raunak is still sleeping. Alarm clock again rings and this time he gets up hurriedly. His eyes are red and he is looking so weary and tired. He gets up and goes to college within 10 minutes without even having his breakfast. This routine was not new to him. It has become his daily routine. Late night studies, skipping breakfast, seriousness all the time has become the part of his life.

    He was not like this years before. But a decision has made him so. He was cheerful, a mischievous boy who knew how to enjoy every seconds of his life. But something happened . Something which made him an altogether different person. A boy who loved laughing at times had forgotten to laugh. A boy who loved nature once preferred to live in dark now. This all happened after he took a decision .

    Just a year back, when 12th board results were announced ,Raunak's parents were so proud of him. Afterall he was the topper of his school. All his relatives and friends congratulated him. He was overwhelmed too.

    But soon his happiness disappeared when one of the reporters asked his father -"what are the future plans of your son?"  to which his father replied -"my son will be an engineer."

    Listening to his father's reply Raunak almost broke into tears. This was not he had dreamt of. His desire was something else. He wanted to be a writer. Writing was like a love for him. He was also the creative head of his school.

    His father wanted him to be an engineer but never bothered to find out what he wanted.

    The whole night, Raunak had been thinking about this. He wanted to tell his father about what he wanted to do but he was equally scared too. He always wanted to make his parents happy. He thought what if I tell my father that I don't want to be an engineer, what will he say? Will his dream of seeing me as an engineer would break? He thought and thought and without getting answers to any of his questions, he felt asleep. 

    The next day, he went to his father with a strong desire to tell him that he want to pursue Eng(Hon) rather than going for science. But when he was about to enter the room he heard some voice. His father was saying to his mother -"our son has made us proud, soon he would be a great engineer and I am waiting for that day. You know I always wanted to be one but somehow I couldn't fulfill my dream. Now our son will fulfill my dream. I feel immense happiness."

    When his father had finished saying, he noticed Raunak standing at the door. He called him and said -" thank you son for giving us these moments of joy and happiness."

    He stood there silent and hiding his sorrow he said -" dad, your dreams are mine now. I will make sure that it gets fulfilled."

    Saying so he came back to his room. With a heavy heart he decided to go for engineering but deep within he knew it was not what he wanted. He knew this decision of him would make his parents happy and thus without thinking of anything else, he finalized his decision of studying engineering in Kota.

    This was the decision which made him isolated and also a different person. A decision where he didn't follow his heart and dumped his dream of becoming a writer. He did not gather courage to tell his father how much he hated physics and that maths always scares him. He just couldn't stand for what he wanted and as a result he landed up in Kota studying a subject so meaningless for him.

    Early days of his college were not so bad. But slowly and gradually when the pressure of studies, assignment increased he was finding it very difficult to cope with the situation. Many a times he cried regretting his decision. He wished he could tell his parents about his decisions and ambitions.

    After returning from college he headed for tuitions and was awake till 4:00 in the morning. Sleepless nights has taken away all his spark which he used to have once. Raunak soon realized that he should escape from this life.

    There again he took a DECISION.

    Next day, the sun shone bright but the life of Raunak was not at all bright. The decision which he took was…. to end his life and free himself from every complicated situations.

    Previous night, he had slept and he was still sleeping. For the very first time, there was peace in his face as he was sleeping. And sooner we realized that he wasn't sleeping. He had done something. Yes! he had committed suicide leaving behind unfulfilled dream of him as well as his father. There was a note too.

    "Dear mom and dad,

    From the very beginning, I wanted to be a writer and thus had planned to do English honors but on the day of results, I got to know that you want me to become an engineer. On that day itself my dreams were shattered. I had promised myself that I will never let you down and that's why keeping aside my ambitions, I followed what you wanted and pursued engineering.

    Dad, these subjects never fascinated me. I was not at all enjoying studying. These were the boring subjects but still I tried.

    I worked hard and was very focused towards my studies but the results again showed me how poor I was.

    I am giving up dad. I am giving up. I know it's a cowardice act to give up but that's all I could. I am sorry dad. I am sorry that I couldn't fulfill your dreams and also I lost your faith in me.

  • A Promise

    A Promise

    This story is about a girl who was in a trauma of losing her friend. She was disheartened and lost her faith in people. She felt it's better to remain in isolation than making friends. Then came a girl in her life who wanted to be her friend. She made her realize how important it is to share your pain and happiness with closed ones. Also, she succeeds in getting her out of the trauma.

     

    There was a girl in our class. Her name was Sonali. She was a quiet girl,always lost in herself. She had no friends. She was lonely and loved to remain in isolation. She was a backbencher and thus remained unnoticed by teachers most of the time.

    She used to be there in the class but not mentally. There was something, something that was nudging her conscience. Something that made her feel out, not speaking to anyone. Something that made her alien. And students often mistook her silence to be her arrogance.

    I always used to wonder why she is like this. Why she don't make friends? One thing I had noticed was that she used to write a lot. She used to convey her feelings through writings only. I wanted to know what was there running in her mind. I wanted to talk to her.

    So, one fine day after the classes were over, I went near her and said -"Hi, Sonali "

    Without looking at me, she replied -"Hi"

    I gathered some courage and asked her -"Sonali, why do you always remain isolated? Why you don't talk to anyone in the class?

    She looked at me and said -"None of your business". After saying so, she left.

    I was so curious to know the reason behind her behaviour. So I thought I will talk to her next day.

    Next day again I went to her and said -"Sonali, I feel so bad when I see you alone. I want to know why you always prefer to be lonely. Life is not about being isolated from everyone, it’s about taking the most of it. Unless and until you interact with the world, you will never experience the true essence of it. You will never know their behaviour. I was continuously giving her a lecture on what life is all about.

    When I stopped I could see, her eyes were filled with tears. I don't know why but I was slightly scared. I went near her, hugged her and said -"Hey ! I didn't mean to hurt you, but I genuinely want to be your friend." Listening the word 'friend' again broke her into tears.

    Still, she didn't say a word. She just handed me her diary and left the classroom. I was very much curious to know about her. So, I opened the diary and started reading it. On the first page of it, was a picture of a beautiful girl and below it was written "YOU BROKE YOUR PROMISE". I turned the pages and read each and every single word written over there. As I read the last page of it, I was totally lost. My eyes were filled with tears. I didn't know how to respond.

    I went outside and saw Sonali standing there. I returned her the diary and left. That entire night, I had been thinking about what I had read in Sonali's diary.

    Next day, I was eagerly waiting for her. When she came, I asked her -" Sonali, I had read your diary and I know how you must be feeling. But until and unless you share your pain with your closed ones, you will never feel good. I know the reason behind this behaviour of yours but still I want you to tell me. I want you to open up your heart today and tell me all that's disturbing you. I know you will tell me. Right?

    Sonali said -" yes, I will tell you”

    And she started narrating whatever had happened with her.

    We were childhood friends. Yes!! We had grown together, studied and played together. It's been 15 years since we were together. I was lucky to have her in my life. Everything was fine. But then something happened, something which I couldn't even dare to imagine. Yes, I never want to remember that black day.

    It is the incident of two Months before, Shikha and I were returning home after attending award ceremony in our school .Shikha had stood first in her class, so it was the celebration time. We both stopped near an ice-cream parlour. We were giggling and enjoying .At that time she told me -"Sonali, I can't even imagine how my life would be without you. You are the one who made my life so meaningful and lovely. I promise you that I will never leave you alone. We are meant to be together 'TODAY AND ALWAYS'.

    I said -" yes, we are inseparable and would always be".

    We were merrily eating our ice-cream while walking on road…when to our sudden realization we were in the middle of the road. And no sooner did we realize this, than a speeding car came and hit us. By God's mercy, I was saved but Shikha was badly injured.

    It all happened in just few seconds. We couldn't even realize what was happening. When I saw my friend injured lying on the road I was shocked and clueless of what should I do.

    I shouted and cried for help. Seeing the crowd I felt that they would help me to take her to the hospital, but to my surprise they didn't lend us a helping hand. People were watching us continuously but didn't dare to help us. Shikha was unconscious and took hold of my hand. I was feeling helpless .Within a few seconds, I could realize that my friend was no more. Yes, she has left. Breaking her promise, she just left. Leaving me in isolation, she just left.

    Sonali while narrating this incident almost broke into tears. I was listening patiently to her.

    She further said -"On that day, I didn't lose my friend only, I lost my happiness, I lost my faith in humanity. I have started believing that humanity never exists. I have a feeling of guilt too. She was suffering and I couldn't even help her.

    Having lost my faith in almost everything, I just prefer to be lonely. Atleast there won't be anything to lose. So, I don't make friends too.

    When she had finished telling her story, I hugged her and said -"Can I ask one simple question?”

    She said -" Yes'

    "Do you think seeing you in pain and lonely, your friend would be happy?"  I asked her.

    She did not reply and left the classroom

    Next day, she came to me and said -"I know seeing me so lonely and sad, my friends would not be happy, but I always fear. That dreadful incident doesn't allow me to trust anyone. Whenever something happens, people are just to stare only. They don't care to help others. So, I don't trust people anymore.

    Listening to her, I said -"Sonali, I want to be your friend. I want to see you happy, talking and giggling. I want you to interact with everyone. Can we be friends? And yes I promise you that I will never leave you alone and I will never break my promise."

    Even after knowing that life is uncertain, I made the promise. Sonali didn't say anything. She just hugged me and I could feel happiness in her eyes.

    It's been years we have been friends. She now no longer feel lonely and has become my best friend. Her smile everyday makes me feel out of the world. Yes! She has changed and seeing her happy, I feel great. 

  • VISION THAT INDIA NEEDS

    VISION THAT INDIA NEEDS

    It was the second day of the summer vacation, and I was literally feeling boring. When there were few days left for vacations, I was like "when will my vacations start? I have to do so much of things." But now I realized it to be so boring. 
    The next morning was destined to be great. So, I woke up and decided to walk my path and not to look back.

    I did not know where I was going. The only thing I knew was that I did not have to spend my vacations sitting idle at home. So, with this thing in my mind, i walked ahead.

    When I was walking, I saw few boys playing cricket. Seeing them i understood that they were poor as they were in rags. I saw them from some distance. The sight of them made me smile. Maybe it was them who were actually enjoying the true essence of life.

    I didn't know what was running in my mind, I went there and asked if I could also join?

    They seemed more excited and said "yes, why not?"

    I started playing cricket with them. The children said "bhaiya, you do the batting and see i will bold you in first ball itself. I was like, “okay kids, let’s see"

    We all played for at least half an hour. After that i said them "it was really nice playing with you all".
    I was about to go when one of them said "bhaiya, why don't you come to our village?"

    As i didn't have any important work at home, I said 'alright friends, let’s go'. I could see their faces which conveyed that they were extremely happy when i agreed to go to their village .But then when i went there i could not believe my eyes. At one place where cities are modernizing, people are being educated, technology is developing, and there are still some places where there is lack of everything .People are facing problems every other day. Basic amenities like electricity, pure drinking water are still a dream for people living in such places.

    I asked the kids 'in which class do you read?' I was amazingly surprised with their answer. They said -'bhaiya, we want to study, but there is no place in our village where we could go and study. Also our parents do not earn that much money that they can feed us thrice a day, so the question of providing us education does not arise.

    It was at that time when i realized that now i would not get bored anymore. I had got an idea. Yes, now I knew how to spend my vacations in a productive manner.

    I asked them, 'do you all really want to study?' 

    They all said, 'yes, we want to study'

    I said 'okay, so from tomorrow itself you all will study. What if there is no one in your village who can teach you all, I am there. Not only I, but there are many youngsters in the country who can and they are willing to contribute a part in making this country an educated one. So, be ready friends .From tomorrow you all will experience a life where getting education will not be a dream anymore. Saying this, I went back home.

    Firstly i called two of my friends Rashmi and Rehan and also my younger brother Jatin and discussed my idea with them. Their excitement level was much more than mine. So in the evening, I along with Rehan went to buy few notebooks, pencils and a white board. I was so much excited that i couldn't sleep the entire night.

    Next morning as planned, I along with Reshma, Rehan and Jatin headed towards the village. To my surprise the kids were patiently waiting for us and were very much excited.

    There was a big ground near the village which was the perfect place where they could study. So,we took all the kids there. There were sixteen kids altogether and we were four. So, i thought it would be better if one person teaches four kids. And thus Mission Education started.

    We all were happy. There was a different feeling. The sight of a smiling person and knowing that the reason behind that smile is you. A sense of satisfaction comes in. Yes, I have had that feeling that day. We taught them for two hours and then we played cricket for some time. After all it was because of cricket i met those kids and interacted with them.
    And then we came back home with a promise to them that we will come the next day.

    At night, I was thinking even after seven decades of freedom, the children of Mother India still can't read and write for they don't have the resources .Is this how our nation will develop? I don't think so. Thinking such topics I felt asleep.

    Next day we went there and taught those kids and it continued. Good days run past quite fast? Don't they? The same happened with us quite a few days before. We never realized   how we had been teaching them for over a month. There was only a day left for school reopening. At night i was thinking what should be my next step. I thought when my school will reopen, I won't be getting time to teach those kids. I was thinking and thinking and then an idea struck me. I thought i can teach them in the early morning, before going to my school. Yes, I can do that. But will the kids agree? So, the next day I went to their place and told them about this schedule. They readily accepted it. It seemed that they were craving to learn. Now, I was mesmerizing with the thought that I can teach them regularly.

    Coming back home, I thought just as I took a small initiative, if people start taking such initiatives can't we bring a small change in the country? Good things always pay for. And with this belief in my heart, I walked on.