The Storm That Shook My Tree

It was a perfect lazy Sunday morning, an ideal excuse to take a break from the early morning routine. So there I was still lying on my bed. Dadi (granny) woke me up around 10 a.m. with her sweet voice. I opened my teeny weeny eyes, stretched my inzy winzy bones, wore my best smile and took her blessings. On days like this, all we expect is to sit in the comfort of our cozy home and enjoy a late brunch with our family. But when I went to the balcony to get the dried clothes inside I saw the usually cheerful neighbours Sharma uncle and aunty frantically running here and there. They looked really worried and were talking to other people in the society. I saw them entering my house, so I just dumped the clothes and ran towards the living room to find out what happened.

There sat Sharma aunty, uncle and few other members of their family along with other elders of the society. Mrs Sharma was crying and was inconsolable. My mom tried to calm her down, offered her water and asked her what was wrong. In between the sobs, she said with a lot of difficulty that Prachi didi (her daughter) was missing. She was cursing herself as well as an uncle and said that she will never be able to forgive herself, if Prachi Di has taken any extreme step. 

Prachi didi went missing?

My heart sank to hear that she could have done something to herself. I was so in awe of her. She was a girl of many talents. A beautiful dancer, painter, and an intelligent girl. She wanted to become a doctor is what we were used to hearing from everyone around us. She was preparing for her NEET exams, since her 9th class. To be able to focus on entrance totally, she joined a dummy school after her 10th standard and would be at her coaching institute for 10 to 12 hours daily. She was very focused and sincere. Everyone in our society would talk highly of her and say”अरे भई शर्माज़ी के तो भाग्य खुल गए, उनकी बेटी तो डॉक्टर बनेगी।” 

Saturday (yesterday) was the most awaited day for her and her family as the results of NEET entrance were going to be out. To the utter shock and dismay of everyone and herself, Prachi didi couldn’t make it. Yes! Our hardworking and deserving Prachi Di had failed. Everyone in her family was disappointed but she was going through hell. She was completely heartbroken and shattered. Everyone was worried about her. At the dinner table, her father tried to console her saying that “beta you will get through in the next attempt. Don’t worry about this result.” She said in a heavy voice, tears rolling down her pink cheeks, “ Papa, Mummy and you always wanted me to become a doctor and even all our relatives and neighbours wished the same. It had become my dream to fulfil your dream. But I have failed you and everyone. I have already done my best but still failed. I think I am worthless and my life means nothing. She started weeping heavily and ran to her room. Her parents wanted to console her as they knew what neet meant to her. But then they thought it would be best to give her sometime to heal and left her alone. 

       Present day morning when she was called for breakfast, she was found nowhere. Aunty panicked on knowing this and looked for her everywhere in the house. When she was not found, she got really worried and calls were made to friends and relatives. But there were no hints of her whereabouts. My father suggested to report the matter to the police, as it was already 5 to 6 hours since she was missing now. Everyone else also thought that it would be best to do so. So, Mr and Mrs Sharma left to the police station, and just then, there appeared Prachi Di from the main entrance of the society. She was smiling and there was a newfound confidence in the way she walked and her aura had changed.

     

 Sharma aunty ran and hugged her daughter, kissed her forehead and all over her face with love. Uncle hugged her too and tears started flowing from his eyes. They looked at her with many questions and guilt in their eyes. Prachi Di calmed them lovingly and made them sit. She then asked my father to call all the children and parents of society. As everyone came and were eager to know what had happened she started talking. “I want everyone to listen to me very carefully, as I have learned an important lesson by none other than life. I learned it the hard way but want you to learn it without going through that trouble. 

I have always been a bright student as you all know and this lead my family to weave dreams around me. Gradually, without even realising when and how, I made this dream, the sole purpose of my life and gave up dancing, painting and all other things that I loved doing. Since I was doing nothing else that could make me happy, all my energy and happiness became dependent on cracking the NEET, so much so that I felt that this failure has made my life worthless. Unable to find solace in my current circumstances, I felt that I was engulfed in fire and wished to free my soul from this blaze by ending my life.” She took out a letter from her pocket and said,” I wrote this suicide note and went to the terrace to end my life because I felt that this failure was the end of the very purpose of my existence. I was heartbroken and ashamed of myself. When I was about to jump off, I saw a lady on the road who was crying while holding an injured pup in her hands. I thought of helping her. I went down and took the pup to a nearby veterinarian. When the doctor was attending the pup, I asked the lady about her pup. She told that she lost her husband and only son in a road accident, and was left alone. She was in so much pain that she felt there was no reason for her to exist. She wanted to end her life as she lacked the courage to attempt to escape into new experiences and purpose in life. But God had other plans for her and before she could do anything, she found this abandoned pup. The moment she saw it, she found her purpose, the pup gave meaning to her life. As she was speaking to me, I realised the frivolousness of these small failures and how we exaggerate them to determine the worth of our life and our self worth. I learned my lesson that you have to fight some bad days to earn the best days of your life. I realised that NEET was a part of my life not the heart of my life. The heart of my life was the determination and my willingness to do something worthy of it. It could be NEET or something else.” Prachi Di had a radiant smile and tears of happiness in her eyes while sharing this journey of wisdom. She tore down her suicide note and said a quote by Stephenie Meyer which I will remember throughout my life: “ Life gave me a hundred reasons to cry but I will show life that I have a thousand reasons to smile.” 

My dadi who was listening to her carefully said: “ This storm shook your tree but also taught you how to fly.” I always agree to the age-old pieces of wisdom by my dadi but I couldn’t understand this until later that day.

Awaken and rise from the depth of your deepest fear like a phoenix rising from the ashes. Failure will give you wisdom and strength that creates a light that shines bright enough to help, encourage & inspire others out of their own darkness. So never be afraid of failures. Instead, the number of times you have failed is a measure of your ability to survive the storm and be able to fly.