The Mercury

The medical entrance result was published and to my surprise, my name was not there. Hard to believe it was for me. My heartbeat felt like the cracking sound of shattering of the heart. The whole earth seemed upside down to me. I was confused whether the world was spinning very fast or my head was. Although there was absolute silent, I could hear thundering of the clouds in my head.

“Ah! I have lost. All my hard work was in vain”, I thought to myself. I had worked extremely hard every day and night without taking rest. Most of the days I didn’t go out to focus on my studies. Still, I did fail. I was lost in all kinds of negative thoughts. It was too much frustrating. My nerves were tangled in the rankling thoughts. It felt like the cortisol hormone failed to respond to my stress level. The anxiety was pounding my head. I didn’t faint but felt that the ground was slipping from my feet.

Suddenly, the telephone started ringing. The land-phone kept ringing for some time and my mom asked me to receive the call. I picked up the receiver but was unable to speak. It was my grandfather, who had complete trust on me. “How can I say to him that I didn’t get through the entrance exam”, I asked myself. “Hello”, I said with a trembling voice. It was not necessary to tell him the result. He understood quite well for which he didn’t ask either.

“It's OK, my dear boy”, said my grandfather. Although I thought nothing was fine, and he was only saying this to console me, still I was listening quietly. Then he said, “I know my child, you are thinking that I am telling you such things to comfort you.” It seemed that he was reading my mind. Then he said, “I know what is going on in your mind because, I have gone through the same kind of situations many times.”

He told me a story. It was about him. He was in class six at that time. The half yearly exam was held. The exam copies were distributed amongst all the students so that they could go through and find out their mistakes and rectify them the next time. It was the time for English exam copy. The copy was filled with red ink highlighting all his mistakes. There was not a single line that contained no mistakes. He cried a lot. He felt as if he was in sackcloth and ashes. That day he determined not to make any mistake and from the next exam onwards he hardly made any mistake.

He then asked, “Do you think this is the end my dear?”

“No”, I said with a feeble voice. He said, “This is the beginning. You should be proud of your effort.”

Although I was listening to him, I couldn’t understand what to do. Understanding the situation he said to me, “I am coming tomorrow. We will discuss regarding this.” Suddenly my eyes gleamed.

The next day my grandfather arrived at our home at about 11.00am. He was 65 at that time. He didn’t get a seat in the bus for about 3 hours and travelled standing. Although tired he didn’t seem to be. Sweat was dripping from his face. I was overwhelmed to see him. I rushed to hug him. Then he immediately said, “let’s solve your issue first.”

I was totally surprised and thought to myself, “what is he going to say?” Whenever he said something, it had created a great impact on me. 

While going towards my study room unknowingly my had hit a thermometer which was on a table. The thermometer fell and broke. My grandfather said, Ah! My task is simplified.” I couldn’t understand anything. What can be good with a broken thermometer and what it has to do with our discussion. My grandfather said to me, “Look at the mercury. It is spreading out.” I stared at the mercury but still didn’t understand anything. Then he asked me to gather the mercury with the help of a paper. I did as he asked. It was fun. With a little help the mercury gathered easily. He then asked me why did the mercury gathered easily which would not have been possible in case of water. Being a science student, I knew the answer very well. I said that due to high cohesive force and high surface tension mercury gathered easily. “Correct”, said my grandfather.

Then he explained that when mercury was spreading it was still trying to attract other mercury molecules to gather at one place. Similarly, when we are shattered and lose hope we must keep working and the results will follow someday. He then said that the blacksmith hammers the iron not to break it but to bring it into a useful shape. Similarly, we face many ugly situations in our lives to learn from them and to become a better person each time.

I said, “All my effort went in vain.”

“It’s too early to say that. Don’t think like that.” He spoke. He said that a mango seed doesn’t grow overnight to give you mangoes and thus the effort I had put would definitely help me someday.

He then said, “You are very young and you can do anything you want to. The only thing you need to do is unleash yourself. Have a clear goal and work for that with determination and dedication. You will see success will kiss your feet whenever you touch the ground.”

It was already 1.30pm. My mother called us for lunch. I was happy. My sad face turned into a glowing one. I was totally inspired. My grandfather stayed with for next seven days and we had a lot of fun. Then he went back to his home.

Listening to him was amazing. I had goosebumps on that hot day. These words made me feel better and energetic. From that day onwards I always started to think positively. Always put my best effort without thinking about the results and to my surprise My grandfather was right.

Today also I can hear his voice. The stories he used to tell us. Now he is not anymore but it feels like he is everywhere. Whenever I feel gloomy, I remember my grandfather and all my pain vanishes.