The Alarm Clock

Mani stretched his hand and banged the button on the clock to stop the ringing alarm and turned to the other side to try to sleep once again. But his sleep had been disturbed. He gazed at the clock as if to say ‘Why did you ring now?’

The small alarm clock, gifted to him by his grandmother, had been his constant companion for the past few months. He had taken leave to study, as he was appearing for his CA Finals. Every day, it would ring and he would get up with a start to get back to the study table. His timetable was drawn to cover the study and revision of all the subjects in equal measure.

Even when the examinations were on, the clock had played a prominent part in his routine. The alarm would ring early in the morning, and as if on cue, his mother would come to wake him up with a cup of tea in her hands. His eyes would be unconsciously drawn to the clock after every chapter was completed. Solving question papers had been his way of revision. There too, the clock was set in a way to ring after every 25 minutes, as that was the time he had allotted for answering each question.

And today when it was not even necessary, it was ringing with full force. He got up. But the ringing of the alarm did not make him angry. He looked at it with amusement and said to himself, “Now I shall set the alarm to get up and play cricket. You will still be my companion, my dear clock, but with a difference. Your ring will now be enjoyable, not irritating.”