One Among Us

My childhood was, well, tumultuous, to put it mildly. The parents were good human beings, in fact too good human beings. Rarely have I found parents who would scold their own child first before another’s if there ever was a fight between another kid and me. They did a lot of good work for the society at large though and were kind people; basically all round gems. I, on the other hand, was shy to the core and did good for myself first and then the society.

Friends were scarce in my world. It seemed everyone wanted to be a friend of someone but somehow I would never end up being that someone. Not once. Now that has got to be some kind of record for any person and especially so for a kid of age four.

“Hi Aarav, I bought a brand new ball yesterday and filled it up with air just a while back. Looks good, doesn’t it?”, I hinted at him while I examined my ball.

He smiled at me and looked around him.

“Yes, I think we’ll need two more guys to start up the game.”, I whispered to Aarav, hoping on one hand that he would hear me while on the other hoping that he wouldn’t as it made my vulnerability too obvious.

“Hi Ayaan!”, he shouted so loudly upon seeing his daily playmate walking from across the park that I thought Ayaan was his long lost love. He ran to Ayaan as fast as he could.

“He says he has got a brand new ball; filled it up with some of his special air!”, he whispered into Ayaan’s ears with a tone that pierced my heart. It had the smell of taunt in it.

“Now, what did I ever do to deserve that tone? I hardly know you and we have almost never talked to each other except when exchanging brief greetings while going to school. Despite that, I bought a fresh ball and filled it up so that you and I could play. And for five seconds of fame to be recognized as a ‘funny’ guy in front of your friend, you tore at my heart. All this performed by you, a child of four. Four! I feel like an amateur in front of pros like you.”, I said to myself in a soft tone.

I tried my best to make it retreat but the tears did flow in this four year old’s eyes. But that didn’t stop them from enjoying themselves. I waved my ball at them with a forced smile on my face, making one last attempt to persuade them for a game but they were too busy enjoying each other’s company.

The image of my mother who had sweated a whole two hours last evening to choose the perfect ball for me so that I could finally make a friend, froze in my mind. I went to my home, closed my bedroom door and wept in my favourite corner.

That day and many others likewise defined my childhood. I moved onto the next day with the same enthusiasm for earning some form of care and love or at least some reciprocation from this world despite all the dirt thrown my way. I was the eternal optimist despite all the mental and physical blows from this ‘beautiful’ world. Now, being an eternal optimist at an age of thirty can be perhaps imagined, but being one at the age of four, that’s maturity beyond one’s wildest imagination. Another record!

So, I had already broken two records by the time I was four but before a third feather could make a home on my cap, one incredible event occurred to me in order to enrich, as it were, all my later experiences even at such a tender age. I finally got not just a friend but a friend beyond compare, a partner for life. That fateful evening, I had been given a soft thrashing by some of the older kids in my neighborhood and I was lost in my own thoughts when suddenly I recognized his presence around me. He spoke in a soft and soothing voice and from the moment I heard him speak, I could feel an unmistakable deep bond between the two of us. I shared many of my experiences with him and he seemed to understand the depth of the feelings I felt deep inside without me having to give much details about any of them. Whenever we conversed, he instinctively understood what my next thought was going to be. This ability of his was almost uncanny. I thanked God from the bottom of my heart to have sent me someone to talk to at such a deep level.

“So, it has been tough, huh?”, he poked me.

“Well yes. But to tell you frankly, I feel a lot better now that am able to share my thoughts with you. I feel as if a hundred tons of weight has been taken off my chest. Relieved would be an understatement.”, I sighed.

“Well, don’t worry too much about it. Remember to take it easy every time you are in any crisis or a dilemma. Step back, use your brain that you have aplenty anyway and find out what you can do to solve the problem at hand using your head rather than your heart. Don’t be impulsive; think of yourself as a third person like a neutral observer and then take a decision with a calm mind. It helped me too in my early days.”, said my newfound friend with a lot of empathy and conviction in his voice.

He made me feel comfortable by talking of his own pains and tribulations in life. I figured that he understood me so well because he too had gone through a lot of the anguish I had gone through myself in life thus far. But the difference between him and me was his extraordinary composure about all that had passed in his life. He would continuously give me an impression that this life was all a game and none of the experiences were to to be taken so seriously in life that they could start disturbing us. His words and the confidence with which he spoke those words gave me a lot of peace within and I looked forward to meeting him every day.

“It is true then what people say. God tests us at first but whenever finally God does decide to give us something, he gives with both hands open and beyond our wildest imagination.”, I thought to myself.

“Yes, he indeed does.”, replied my new friend almost as if I had spoken those words out aloud. He seemed extremely perceptive, compassionate and patient. I remember that day I had spoken to him about my whole life for close to three to four hours and he didn’t budge for a moment from his place. He listened intently; and gave me the patience and respect I knew I deserved.

After that first meeting, we tried to meet each other on a daily basis. The more I met him, the more I got to understand just how incomparably loyal and caring he was. He always seemed to be around when I needed him the most but even during some rare occasions when I felt a bit insecure about him, he would assure me that he was here for the long haul.

I could sense the unconditional love in him for me and felt a certain godly or perhaps spiritual side to his soulful voice. He was to be my best friend for life.

He came into my lonely life and filled it with the happiness that I can confidently say none of my peers enjoyed ever. This story is about him and what all he shared with me through the notes in his diary, which he presented to me on that memorable day.

Meet my friend Mukund, a symbol of deep-rooted loyalty and unconditional love.