Fear - The Demon

Ahalya looked at the question paper held in her shivering hands. The letters on it seemed to fade away. Her hands were drenched in sweat and her throat was parched. A cold sweat dribbled down her forehead as her eyes took a tour of the examination hall. All other students were busy filling up their answer sheets with a vigour that seemed extraordinary to her. Ahalya's heart raced as panic trapped her in its vicious web. She took a deep breath to relax herself but failed to reign her fluttering heart beats.

She pinned her eyes again on the question paper that had fallen down on the desk from her trembling hands. The words printed in black ink on the white sheet, that was about to decide her fate, were still hazy. She rubbed her swollen, blood-shot eyes hoping to clear her vision. Luck favored her this time and she was able to read the first question. Again a problem raised its dirty head in Ahalya's mind. A few words from the question seemed familiar to her but when she rummaged her brain for the answer, it deceived her. Her face turned pale as her mind went blank. She couldn't remember a single word from the lessons she had been cramming up day after day for about a month. Ahalya was a student of class 8th who was very much devoted towards her studies. She was an intelligent and hard-working student. Her parents and teachers had high expectations from her as she was one among the top students of her class.

She winced in agony as she remembered all those faces that waited her expectantly outside the examination hall and nervously flogged her brain to work. She wanted the answers to flood up in her brain and gush out on her answer sheet. But her brain didn't respond to her urgent pleas. Her answer sheet was still blank as everyone around her zealously kept scribbling over their sheets. All she could hear was her own rocketing heart. She closed her eyes and picked up her pen. Then she opened her eyes and wrote a few words on her answer sheet as tears rolled down her cheeks. She was sure of her failure.

"Oh, dear God!" Ahalya murmured, "I had worked so hard. Then why couldn't I remember anything? I want to know the reason behind my failure?"

The bell rang and the examination was over. The invigilator collected the answer sheets from the students and sealed them in an envelope. The students rushed out and Ahalya followed them with a heavy heart.

"What happened, Ahalya?" Mrs. Chaudhary, Ahalya's teacher, asked as she caught a glimpse of Ahalya's tear-stained face.

"My mind went blank in the examination hall, ma'am," Ahalya closed her eyes and sobbed, "I know, I'm going to fail."

"Calm down, Ahalya," Mrs. Chaudhary said as she hugged the girl, "don't you know that failures are stepping stones to success?"

"But, I had tried really hard," Ahalya wept inconsolably. "I don't understand why I couldn't write a word of what I had studied?"

"It's because of the fear," Mrs. Chaudhary wiped her tears. "You were afraid of the expectations. All the time you were busy worrying about what would happen if you are not able to live upto them. Fear is a demon and shouldn't be allowed to take possession over our mind. If that happens, our mind stops working just as had happened in your case."

Ahalya's tears froze midway and she raised her eyes to look at her teacher.

"You are right, ma'am," Ahalya confessed.

"Learn to reign over your inner demons especially your fears and insecurities." Mrs. Chaudhary affectionately pinched Ahalya's cheeks, "once you are able to do so, you can conquer the world!"