A Tale Of Forgiveness

A Tale of Forgiveness!

The still water of the school’s swimming pool stood in front of me. I gazed at my own reflection and the water beneath, pondering at its depth as well as dangers. Beads of sweat dripped from my face into the pool as the swimming teacher’s roll call approached my roll number.

I stood stiff as a mannequin until the number, I was dreading, was announced by the teacher and I was next in line to dive. I was prepared to pull out the hastily drafted note saying I was unfit to swim, when out the blue a pair of large hands grabbed and catapulted me into the pool. Not able to swim, I was ironically like a fish out of water and slowly sank to the bottom of the pool. I struggled to the surface but on hearing the giggling sound of my fellow friends, I hid myself in the water. I had become the classroom joke. As the teacher fished me out, I covered my face but had left enough of an opening to catch a glimpse of the one who may have been the one to throw me in. From the corner of my eye I saw a lone boy, Ramesh, standing in a position from where he could have easily thrown me.

Through the course of next week, whispers began to confirm my suspicion of Ramesh. My anger and hatred for him bottled up until one fine day when I found a way to vent it out. Ramesh & I were members of the same drama club, where I happen to be the president. The club was preparing for an enactment of Shakespeare’s “Merchant of Venice” and there was a lot of buzz around who would play the role of Lancelot Gobbo. The character would perform embarrassing acts which would fuel fits of laughter among the audience. As the president of the club, the final say in casting was mine and I knew the perfect choice for Lancelot! 

On the day of the audition, I was awaiting the catastrophic failure. Ramesh walked up to centre stage, his face dripping sweat. The entire class had been allowed to witness the auditions. As I called out that he would be auditioning for Launcelot Gobbo, murmurs and quiet laughter stirred in the audience. He began his monologue, but the words barely left his mouth. My personal indignation took a backseat. Ramesh was sinking in shame in front of his friends; a feeling that was all too familiar me. I could once again hear the giggles but this time it was not for me. My conscience told me to be the greater man. I asked Ramesh to step off the stage.

Later, after the auditions ended, I met Ramesh outside school and confessed to him that I knew it was he who pushed me into sinking. I also told him that I had purposely chosen him to audition for the role of Launcelot. I chose to forgive him for his action and asked him if he could forgive me for mine. He looked as if a massive weight had been lifted of his chest. He genuinely apologised for his act. Eventually, by forgiving him rather than taking out my revenge, I made a good friend!!.