An Unlikely Hero

Ishu had been called Hero by everyone since childhood. It was more due to his looks, tendency to keep his hair well-combed and being presentable all the time. It had nothing to do with heroic deeds, of which he knew he was incapable.

He was looking at messages on his mobile when his mother called him. As usual, she berated him for doing nothing and spending time on mobile and friends. Since he was already dressed, he walked out of the house with the intention of meeting his friends. He knew that by the time he got back, his mother would have cooled down.

He reached an isolated crossing where traffic was very little at that point of time on way to rendezvous with his friends. There he came across a scene where four big boys were beating one teenaged boy. He tried to sidestep them but banged into one of the assailants unintentionally.

The boy was furious and started abusing him.

Ishu somehow lost temper and abused him back, “Why are beating the young boy? Why don’t you take on someone of your size?”

The boy was incensed. He attacked Ishu. To his own surprise, Ishu found out that he was stronger than that boy. Seeing their companion being beaten, the other three attacked Ishu. He knew he could not match four grown-up boys. He told the teenaged boy to run and get some help.

After that everything happened in a blur.

When Ishu woke up, he found himself on the hospital bed. He saw his parents on the bedside, looking at him anxiously. There were two more adults. He came to know later on that they were the parents of the boy he had saved.

His mother told him that by the time the teenaged boy could get some help, miscreants had disappeared. They had found him lying unconscious on the roadside.

Everyone was calling Ishu Hero. Only he knew that he had acted at the spur of moment. Circumstances had pushed him to do something which he had never thought he was capable of.