Short stories born out of mere emotions of Life

A Bully bullied at home

Prateek, Tushar and Anvi were inseparable at school. Whether it be eating lunch or getting caught bunking class together...all of them were in it, not one of them missing the fun and grief of the school days. They were like the famous Three Musketeers, well, without all that drama. Only one person they hated like The Devil itself, was Sunil, the unofficially (he acclaimed himself to be) elected Bully of the class. And boy! This guy had a talent which many bullies lacked. He could turn a day full of beautiful joy and color, a day when even Mother Nature would play with dreamy kids into a pitiful beggar begging for solace. He was a savage hunting for happy children, devour them and leave behind the bones of grief with them.

Then something unimaginable happened. Not that, it wasn't possible, but none of the untrained musketeers had ever thought about. So, what had happened was that, I will tell you, ....Their teacher announced that they had some assignment to do and submit within a week, and that she had already made groups. And as the merciless Fate would have it, Prateek, Tushar, Anvi AND Sunil were to be in One group. The three of them looked at Sunil and one look a him, and they saw what was about to happen.

And the events turned out to be more or less the same. Sunil bossed them about, literally treated them like English Tommies treated the African Servants. They had to do everything, for they were forced to do so, by Sunil who kept a track of each and every activity of the three. And guess what ? They completed the project in just 3 days !! And they were the first to submit...though their teacher was happy, the three of them weren't at all. And Prateek complained "Ma'am! We should not have teamed up with Sunil. He messed up everything ! We didn't enjoy it at all"..."Yes teacher !!"...said Tushar and Anvi together. "Well your beautifully presented project just gave me a different impression. You three never submitted your projects on time and never was it soo neat !! Perhaps Sunil did you guys a favor by guiding you rather strictly."...And something clicked their minds. The three of them thought about it that night as they tossed and turned in their beds. The next morning they all had the same conclusion.

"Perhaps ma'am was right", said Anvi...."He did help us in many ways." Tushar continued "Yes, it was we, who didn't want to obey him or take him in as the leader."..."I think we should apologies to him"....Pratik concluded and since Sunil was absent that day, they went to his house in the evening.

His mother opened the door and asked who they were. When they said they wanted to meet Sunil, he spoke with his face whitened with grief "I am sorry, but children, Sunil has gone away with his Father to the US. He will never come back." "Never come back, why ?"...added Prateek,"Because child, you see, I and his father were quarreling for years now and finally got our divorce few days ago and his father immediately packed off to the US and took my baby with him." She continued "He was always in a bad mood because of this and I thought it was for the best he goes away from here, to start a new life."...The children apologized for the intervention and went away. And on the way home, they thought how Devils weren't born, they were made by the society and situations they were helpless about. They realized how Sunil sacrificed his Image in front of the three to protect their self respect. And that anyone is your teacher, you just have to let them in through your soul and accept them. And they Will, bestow upon you priceless knowledge of Life, not found in any dusty book.