Prompt-O-Rama

Lessons! Lessons! (Prompt: Fun)

"Please do not thank me. I enjoyed running the campaign. With all the children and their antics, it was actually fun."

Ms. Banu looked at me, tears streaming down from her lifeless eyes. I could hear her sob even in the cacophony of the gadgets beeping and buzzing around her. She tried to lift an arm, but was too weak and it fell by her side. "I don't deserve to live," she said weakly.

"Please," I said. "Don't be so hard on yourself. It is a miracle you survived. Take it easy."

"How can I not?" she retorted. "Had I been killed, my sins would've died with me. Now that I am alive, my guilt will render me a living corpse."

"But why are so guilt-ridden? You are a teacher, after all. What could you have done? And, your children treat you like a demigod..."

"Not out of respect," she cut me short, "but out of fear. They feared my cane and what I said I would do to their grades if they opened their mouths. Their silence was forced and emboldening."

"And?" 

"I took advantage and became nastier. The cane grew thicker and the children, more terrified."

"I don't know if you are as vicious as you think you are, ma'am, especially given how enthusiastic the children have been in the fundraiser. That isn't something one would do for someone..."

"They need their grades to be intact, don't they?" she cut me short again, the impatient teacher that she is. "As for the fundraiser, the credit goes to you. If you hadn't initiated the campaign and egged the kid on, I would be long gone. And considering your child has faced my wrath too, I ought to be guilt-ridden," she said and turned to catch a glimpse of her vitals on a screen. "I am getting better. This is purgatory." 

"We need to rise above anger, rage, self-pity and other such petty emotions if we are to lead by example, shouldn't we?" I said, and she nodded. 

"If it will give you any comfort, I've known all along that you've beaten my child to the point she hates going to school. Children may be tight-lipped when they are awake. But they do tell us a lot when they're asleep. It is enough if the parents pay attention, don't you think?" 

"Yes..." her voice broke. "And yet, you chose to..."

"Let's not talk about the campaign. Like I said, Petty emotions make a man small. I prefer leaving a lasting impression. Don't you think my actions in this case will make you a more compassionate teacher, a better human being?" 

"Yes," she said. "And a wreck too. My wheelchair, my crutches... They'll serve as stark reminders of what made me deserve this. I have no option but to turn over a new leaf."

"Absolutely. You may not get another shot at living if you don't. The next parent might simply choose to leave you for the dead after knocking you down. Not everyone is looking to leave a lasting impression, you see."