He knew the task
undertaken was not a cakewalk. All his life, the guilt of not doing it was all
that was stuck inside his head ripping it apart like a slow poison. Over- guardedly,
the things were placed in the sole bag he had. Cared he too much, rehearsing
each and every damn thing thousands of times, so that the execution of the act
can be flawless.
Some told him, there was only
one way, the destination could be reached. People were supposed to catch a bus
filled with double its capacity. He accepted the challenge as the gradual
intent was far more vital. Getting down from the bus was not the only thing;
the final place was at the other side of a river and anyone who wished to reach
there was doomed to get wet due to lack of boats or so. The river was not that
deep but the filth made sure it would give one, a feel of getting drowned. He
was blindfolded by something, an urge, may be.
Not a single one from his
family had ever done a thing like this. He had the privilege of doing so or as
one might say; his fate was cursed to do so. Family-men condemned. Alas! They
could not stir his soul. As a father-less child and an elder brother to his one year old sister with mother and uncle not in a state to work, he had to take
this jinxed step. He had embraced; ‘devil-may-care’ attitude for the
consequences of his deed had to have deep and grave results.
Considered as an act of felony by some in his
locality but he was not moved by the repercussions of the very thing. Still,
taking a deep breathe, closing his eyes
and offering prayers to his Almighty, bidding adieu to his mother, kissing
forehead of his sister and seeking blessings from Uncle, he took the damned bag, put it over his shoulder
and proceeded to the fated place,‘School’. He was 7 and
had dreams of becoming a learned scholar to steer his family away from poverty
and break the orthodox shackles for the good...
