The news spread in the school like fire. Everyone was talking about him. People who were close to him or even knew him for that matter were inconsolable. No one in the class was ready to accept the news. Mr. Banerjee, the principal, was standing at the door trying to collect himself and face the situation. He had to go inside; he had no option, for how long could he wait outside! As he was stepping in, he overheard a voice, “Banerjee sir shouldn’t have done it.” He took a deep breath and tried to check the tears in his eyes. He could not face everyonelike this; he rushed towards his office, holding his diary tight in his hand.
Only yesterday, everything was normal in the PCM section of class XII. It was a substitution period and Athurv and Rakshika were sitting close to each other; the new tender love had just started blooming. Jayanth as usual was busy trying to impress girls about his next cricket tournament. Amidst all the chaos, Medansh and Arnesh were busy solving physics numerical that were still to be done in the class. There was a lot of noise in the class and no one seemed to be missing Akhilesh; he was still alive! But who knew what he was going through and who could have imagined it was his last day!!!
It was Monday, the first day of the week that four boys had been caught smoking in the boy’s washroom. The peon had noticed the smell and reported the matter to the principal immediately. This was Akhilesh’s first attempt at smoking; he just wanted to experiment what his friends did daily. He was always laughed at by his friends but today he wanted to feel like a man.
All four were taken to the Principal’s room; where they were suspended with immediate effect. Others didn’t care, it was a routine for them but Akhilesh kept pleading and apologising to the principal. But nonetheless, they were thrown out with their bags by the security. He was invited by the gang to join them for a movie but he had no courage to commit another mistake. He took his bag to the park outside school and sat on the bench wondering when the school would get over and he could join his younger brother to leave for home.
That day he kept silent at the dinner table and it went unnoticed by everyone. Unable to sleep the whole night, he kept wondering how he could hide it from his family when his younger brother (Tarun) was in the same school.
Next morning, he made an excuse at the school gate and managed to skip school. This pattern followed until Thursday when the news was disclosed to everyone in assembly. Tarun lowered his head in shame while his friends kept pinching him the whole day. Tarun was a star in the eyes of his teachers and parents whileAkhilesh was an average student. There were frequent comparisons at school and home that always hurt. Akhilesh’s self-esteemand he always kept quieT.
But today was a day which no one had ever imagined. Tarun was in aN aggressive mood when he reached home. His face was pale and eyes were red. He threw his bag on the sofa and screamed loudly. His parents rushed towards him at once because they had never seen him in this mood before. He narrated the entire sequence to them and shared his embarrassment in front of the school. Everyone was furious with Akhilesh; not sure though for his mistake or for the embarrassment Tarun faced because of him.
With no one to share his feelings with, Akhilesh went to talk to Gaurika; he had a secret crush on her. She heard him very patiently. Looking deep into his eyes and holding his hands she reassured him that it was not a big deal and he must take his parents in confidence. This was enough to cheer Akhilesh up and show him the right path. From there he went to the football ground to play a game. Life was feeling normal again for him, knowing little of a sudden sad turn waiting for him at home.
He reached home late that night and everybody had slept by that time, only their servant Ramu was awake to open the door. He forgot that he had promised to confess today; little did he know that tomorrow he wouldn’t get a chance. He jumped on his bed and immediately went off to sleep; he felt relaxed after many days. The whole night he kept dreaming about Gaurika. A simple friendly gesture was good enough to make him feel normal again.
Next morning, he kept sleeping late until his dad came to his room to find him sleeping carelessly and missing school. His dad called his name in anger but he was carefree and didn’t bother. His dad lost his temper and took off his comforter to wake him up. And suddenly, the image of Gaurika faded into his father’s furious image. He got out of his bed at once.
It was a dramatic scene; anger, comparison, guilt, abuse all encircled him. Every word tore him apart. His entire family was lashing out at him. He tried to explain himself but no one gave him a chance. Every sentence, every word was breaking him down, making him feel more miserable and invaluable. It is rightly said people forget to mind their words in aggression. When his mother said, “You have put us in shame. We have never felt proud to be you parent like Tarun’s. Learn from Tarun…” She was still speaking but Akhilesh could bear no more. His mother was his saviour and he could not take it anymore. He rushed out of the room without caring for her next sentence, “We love you beta…”
No one thought where he would go and what he would do. A couple of hours passed, everyone got busy in their daily chores. Mom was in the kitchen, Tarun was studying as usual and his father was busy repairing his scooter. Akhilesh came closer to dad and said in a trembling voice, “Papa … papa…” His dad was still upset and did not look up still looking occupied. Again in a trembling voice Akhilesh said “Pa…pa…” That very moment his dad looked up at him and shouted aloud calling his mom and Tarun. Akhilesh was looking pale and turning blue, there were bubbles coming out of his mouth. He was weak and couldn’t stand properly. He immediately fell on his father’s lap. His father kept on calling his name again and again and was not being able to understand and react accordingly.
Akhilesh managed to gather some strength to divulge, “Papa, I am sorry… I had poison…
I don’t want to die… Please save me… Save me…” and he fainted. Their car was in garage that day; he quickly rushed him on his scooter with the help of Tarun and rushed towards the hospital. Unfortunately, their scooter broke down in between. It took them some time to get some help. When they finally managed to bring him to the doctor, he was declared “brought dead.”
So questions keep haunting me since I penned this story:
- Was he a victim of comparison among siblings?
- Was he a victim of hasty response from school authorities?
- Was he a victim of his own temperament?
- Was he a victim of destiny?
- Whatever it may be a family lost its son. He could have been an engineer or an entrepreneur or an artist today. Who knows, the flower didn’t blossom!
-By Ruchi Gupta
