Life After

This is where his life changed, in a building made of rooms overflowing with knowledge, opportunities, competition, and jealousy. The same place where sweet memories turned bitter with time, this is the place where the story of one of the biggest struggles of his life took place.

Inside one of the classrooms in that building, Ms. Singh is wrapping up a lecture. While gathering her things, she turned toward the students and said,

"Everyone listen carefully; you will be able to collect your admit cards at the reception from tomorrow afternoon." Hearing her words, every student in the classroom had a different reaction. Some were ecstatic, some anxious, but before anyone could say something, Ms. Singh continued,

"So, Jay, I assume you do not plan to join your peers next year." As soon as these words left her mouth, a tall, skinny, pale student raised his head from the desk's surface and replied using a slightly loud voice,

"This room has grown on me; while I would like to graduate twelfth standard, I wouldn't mind staying here one more year." Jay's comic response to Ms. Singh's condescending statement made the entire classroom erupts into laughter along with Jay, and it even puts a faint smile on Ms. Singh's face.

        But then the sound of everyone's laughter is interrupted by the bell being rung, indicating the lecture is over. The moment the bell rang, everyone stood up and started leaving the classroom. As Ms. Singh was leaving, she was stopped by Jay's voice. He walked up to Ms. Singh and said,

"Ma'am, I might not be able to collect the admit card tomorrow because I have a doctor's appointment in the morning. Can I collect it the day after tomorrow?" Jay's words made Ms. Singh a little worried, so she said,

"I hope it's not something serious. You can take more than a day if you want." Seeing his teacher worried, Jay chuckles and says,

"I just have a headache and cough, which could also mean I'm becoming spiderman." Jay's enthusiasm about what the headache might mean made Ms. Singh laugh, and as she was laughing, she said to Jay,

"Okay, then take care and get well soon." And Jay replied,

"Thank you, ma'am." And so, they left the classroom.

        After leaving the classroom, Jay went straight to his bus, he was the first to reach the bus to sit at the spot of his choice, but he sat down at the very last seat. Soon the other students joined Jay, and they all rode home together, enjoying themselves, laughing and joking.

Thirty minutes later, Jay's stop arrived; he smiled and said goodbye to everyone and then stepped out of the bus. As the bus drove off, Jay noticed his mother's car outside the house, and the smile on his face just disappeared. And he said to himself,

"Oh, not this again, Okay, what's the worst that can happen." And so, he opened the front door and entered the house, and quietly tried to see what his parents were doing. That is when he heard his mother shouting the word,

"He is my son too; if he is getting sick, you have to tell me just because we are getting divorced doesn't mean he is not my son anymore." Instead of trying to calm down his mother, Jay's father lost his temper and, along with it, the control over his tongue. In a loud and angry voice, he said,

"No! what makes you a bad mother, Ria, you left when things got hard. I don't want you around my son because you chose yourself over our family every time. And the only reason you are here is that you need to make yourself feel like a decent parent, but you are not, and it's time you understood that he is better without you in his life." These words cut Ria deep, but she realized that she had an opportunity to calm things down before things got out of hand, so she said,

"Well, Yash, that's not for you to decide, that choice belongs to Jay, and soon, he will get the chance to make that decision."

        While Jay's parents were yelling at each other, Jay couldn't listen to it anymore, so he went into his room. As he was walking past the room his parents were in, Ria noticed him and tried to run after him to talk to him, but he unknowingly what the door in her face, so she turned to Yash and said,

"He heard us fighting. Are you happy now?" Although Jay shut his door, he could still hear his parent's muffled voices bickering and several more minutes.

        Soon Jay's mother left the house. A few minutes after Ria's departure, Jay's father came to his door and said,

"Son, please open the door." Reluctantly Jay opened the door and asked his father,

"So, what were you two fighting about now? I couldn't hear you properly with all the construction in our neighbour’s apartment." Yash was caught off-guard by Jay's response, but he realized that Jay said that to avoid having a painful conversation with him, so he replied,

"Nothing, I just wanted to tell you to rest up. We have a long tomorrow with all the tests." Jay just nods, and so Yash turns around and starts to walk away, but then he suddenly turns around and, with a heavy voice, says,

"And whatever news we get tomorrow, just know that you'll be fine, and everyone who loves you will be there, all of us." Tears slowly start rolling down Jay's eyes, and he said,

"Can we stop pretending everything is fine because nothing is fine? You and mom are getting divorced, and we all know that those tests won't show anything good tomorrow." Yash dashes towards Jay, hold Jay's face in his hands, and while wiping the tears off Jay's cheeks, he says,

"Hey, everything is going to be fine, nothing is going to happen to you, and it doesn't matter what your mother and I think of each other we love you very much and will always be there for you no matter what." Hearing his father say this, the tears on Jay's face starts falling faster, and he quickly hugs Yash.

        Jay and Yash both were lost in the moment and spent minutes in each other's arms. When they both separated, their eyes were wet, and they had tears on their face. While wiping tears off his face, Yash wishes Jay goodnight and leaves when they both separate. But Jay goes to sleep crying and disappointed.

        In the morning, when Jay gets ready and when he comes out of his room, he is surprised to find his mother and father together waiting at the dining table for him, and so he asks,

"What's going on?" Both Ria and Yash looked at him and smiled. Yash stood and brought breakfast for Jay while Ria said,

"We rescheduled the appointment for the evening, and we will have breakfast together like a family." Jay, while surprised, sits down at the table with a broad smile and says,

"If you will bribe me to make me feel better, I think I should point out I really like watches." Jay's word made all three of them burst into laughter.

        In the evening, when they reached the hospital as they were entering Jay stopped for a second, and while Yash and Ria were scared for their son. Jay knew that he was going to be okay because seeing his parents come together despite their differences just for him made him realize that the people that love him will always be there for him. And for the first time in a long time, he felt truly alive.