365 DAYS 365 TALES

THE MOST PRECIOUS THING

He sat in the corner, his back firm against the wall. This dark corner had become his companion long ago. Even before he had desired it, even before he had wanted it, it had become his friend. While the world outside craved for money, the boy who had all the riches sought happiness. 

His eyes stared at the flickering lamp on the opposite wall. He wondered how his life had been like that too. His face, his body, it would flicker ON the moment he stepped out of his room. But in there, it was as if they would confine themselves in a shell. And this dark corner of his, it was his safe shell.

He remembered when he was a little boy. How his parents had pampered him with all the riches, when the only thing he needed was their love. There were no walls to block him, no boundaries to limit him, no restrictions of the clock; and yet, that little boy had searched for a release.

His heart, it still wandered to seek that release, a release from this safe shell. He had decorated the wall below that lamp with the souvenirs from his school. Because that was the time the little boy had finally got a chance to visit the outside world.

He was instantly smitten by that enthralling active world. a world which ran on that clock, and yet had time to pose a smile, a world, which so distinct from his own. The little boy was so much fascinated by this world that he tried to imitate it. He had tried to be someone who he had not. And that was the first time the little boy had failed.

Those years within isolation, they had ripped him apart from himself. Lauding and laughter – the main ingredient of the world – they were not in his cup of tea. He had failed miserably to replicate those emotions. And that was the first time when that boy had discovered his corner. His own, personal safe shell.

Staring at all those souvenirs on the wall, he recollected all those moments, and whatever had happened after that. He had been a worm who hid in a safe shell, but what came out was not the butterfly.

The world than witnessed a man who would do anything to acquire those riches. The same money that his parents had pursued, the same money that he had hated as a child, but that had become his obsession now. Whenever he was out of his safe shell, his heart longed for only one thing – money.

But, when he sat in this corner, his heart only searched for happiness. He had always thought he could buy it with his money, but that never happened. He had always thought he would get it if he destroys others laughter, but that never happened. And when he had finally started to believe that there was no such thing as happiness, that's when his plough had hit a treasure.

It was a simple business deal for him, buying a company for his own profits. But its repercussions on the opposite party were immense. For the company's owner, it was a life shattering event. The owner pleaded many times to find another way, to cancel this deal, but the boy had paid no heed. He had sucked out all the joy from a family.

Before he could leave, before he could celebrate his victory, the owner's father had arrived. He had consoled the owner that it was only money that was gone, and not their happiness.

"Remember one thing son, happiness is the most precious thing in this world, and yet god has given it to us for free. We don't need money to buy us the happiness," he had said.

Then the wise man had looked at the boy. His eyes were boring into his, maybe searching for that happiness, but they had returned empty-handed. The man's last words were still inscribed on that wall he was staring at.

"Sadly, you'd never understand it."

He was wrong, the old wise man was wrong. The boy wanted to shout today that he had finally understood it, that he was finally ready to leave this safe shell. But it had all come too late.

The most precious thing in life, and he had achieved it on his last breath.

***

This piece is inspired from some verses written by iam_anusha in her book Lines and Lives.

cchinu (09/05)