(A
Story written on the occasion of F’ship Day)
From the Pen-APN
It was friendship day.
With the most beautiful flowers
of my garden I went to wish my lady a day of love and happiness. She came out
of her room, took the flowers from me rashly and threw them ruthlessly to a
nearby drain that contained all filthy water. Then she turned her back
immediately and rushed inside her house, not even glancing at me. And she
slammed the door at my face with a bang. All my sweet-smelling flowers floated
away in the contaminated water.
Tear deposited in the corners of
my eyes. Waves of irresistible pain surged inside me. A part of my heart became
numb in excruciating pain. I was no better than a dumb, lifeless statue. I
withered away more rapidly, more appallingly and more ignominiously than those
flowers which I had taken to that lady as the symbol of my love.
That night I wandered here and
there not knowing where I was heading to. The street lights above me seemed to
mock at me scornfully. I felt as if each passer-by was gazing and gazing at me
and then laughing at me behind his/her hands. I could deeply feel how my heart
broke into pieces and how an all-rounded happy personality got shattered in
minutes. I could feel like standing all alone on an endless desert of human
apathy and insensitivity.
I cried and cried and slept
somewhere I did not know. Night covered the earth and stars glimmered overhead.
My eyes were closed and I was drowned in a sea of unfathomable sorrow. Then
from the bottom of my aching heart, slowly and slowly, one after another, the
faces of so many loving persons, appeared in my mind. All of those wonderful
persons had loved me unconditionally without being loved in return. They all shined
around me so brilliantly, with an over-powering light, that the inner gloom
which was hanging over me seemed now powerless.
I stretched myself, drew a long
breath and then started walking past the lamp posts one by one. At a little
distance the local church was glowing celestially in magic lights. And on the
top of the church, a majestic idol of Jesus Christ stood impressively with its
arms stretched and beckoning me lovingly to a world of inner peace. I went near
the church and looking into the eyes of the idol I said, “Happy Friendship Day,
Lord! I was late to come to You because I had been to the world to give love
but someone in return crucified me so well that now my heart is bleeding like
Yours. And the best thing you know Jesus, now with my bleeding heart, I can
wish you the most genuine happy friendship day you have ever had.”
I closed my eyes. And
miraculously, I could feel a pair of divine hands embracing me with an ocean of
love. I could not speak anything because, deep in my heart, I had found the
profoundest and eternal friendship which a man could ever have on earth- The
friendship of the Almighty.
In life, when all hopes are crushed and all doors are
closed, you look skyward and believe that someone high in the sky sits to
release you from the abysmal depths of despair. And the best part of it is that
you are never wrong in your assumptions.