Ecstasy of the Universe

The Best of times and the Worst of times

He remembered the time when he was only seven years old. OM was a normal school-going boy then. A little unhappy with school life and the constant thoughts of him having supernatural powers. Standing there in front of the mirror, he admired his own face. He looked at those white patches on his face which he had no idea from where they came from. He had sometimes tried removing it but it wouldn't work. And as time passed, he completely forgot about it. His complexion was white and his hair was a little longer than usual. Few strands stood erect whom he loathed. After one hour of endless taken measures to keep them down, he gave up. He was ready wearing his school uniform. He felt that the sweater he wore was not enough for the cold weather. There is a need for bigger pants he thought as his legs shivered. With a frown on his face, he walked towards the hall room with a constant prayer - No school. 

He sat on the sofa munching few candies he had greedily kept in his mouth. He felt a weird sensation in his stomach as if he were about to vomit. The candies which he had swallowed had left a bitter-sweet aftertaste in his mouth. He drank a sip of water and tried forgetting it. He felt little nervous. Not only he strongly regretted going to school, he also did not want to meet any of his classmates. After what happened the previous day, the very thought of school and classmates would have OM exhausted. He would either try to forget those memories but when it was hard, he would secretly cry. He seemed deeply hurt. He never expressed it and the day would move on that way. The prayer in his heart was still there. He suddenly seemed to love being at home with his family. He even seemed to be ready for any type of risks. But only if his prayers were heard... 

An unpleasant familiar tune was heard from the outside. The honk repeated a few times until OM himself got up and went outside. His father was already ready in the car. "Come fast, beta. We are getting late!" As he turned around to get his bag on, his sister pushed him aside and ran fast towards the car as if in a race with herself. Now that no choice was left, he had to move quick. Coming out the morning music of the "Gayatri Mantra" coming from an obscure source filled him with ambivalent feelings. 

The day was bright and the sky cloudless. OM peeped outside the car window. His hair flew with the heavy wind trying to push his face behind. His eyes almost closed and his face seemed numb. He would rub his face again and again to experience that unusual feeling. And then he laughed. Once he came back in, his face felt warm and the numbness vanished. Initially, he concluded it to be nasty, but when it turned normal again, he missed the feeling and did it once again. In childhood excitement, he smiled. His father sitting beside looked at him and laughed to himself; perhaps, remembering his younger days. Or laughing at the silly child? 

The car stopped and the sleepy OM opened his eyes. For a second he kept on looking at the building until he realised it was his school. The big grey building with paint spoilt due to continuous rain. The roof was damaged and the windows were dirty. There was a group of sweepers who would, every morning at this time, be seen brooming and mopping the floor. Everything was shady about the building. Few teachers and his friends would be either seen entering the building or waiting outside for their friends. "Get down, OM. School has come." his father hissed. His sister who had already put on her bag got out of the car and joined her gang who waited for her. OM had no gang like her. He was happy for her but sad for himself. He secretly wished if even he had such set of friends. He got down and looked back to the car. "Good day!" his father said and drove the car back. OM nodded and marched straight towards the building covering his face from teachers and other classmates.

OM remembered what happened the previous day. He sat with his friend (the only person amongst the six hundred children with whom he would talk) with plastic lunch boxes on their laps. They shared the food and while munching, talked about everything they could. Raj was a round brown personality with pinkish cheeks.  He talked about a day out with his family and the restaurant they had visited. OM would smile or complete the sentence if he saw him stammering. There was a small group of louts who sat beside them. Though they were of the same grade, OM and Raj kept a safe distance from them. OM hated them and sympathised with the fellow bully. Having no idea of their ears peeping in their talk, Raj kept on speaking reluctantly. "Yes?" a short boy from that group interrupted, "So h-how was the d-d-dish?" and they laughed as loud as possible. OM turned furious. And when he saw the hurt face of his friend, he retorted, "If you cannot help him, then please don't tease him". The faces of the disturbing elements turned blank and the  short boy said, "Keep yourself away, girly". OM paused but Raj caught him, "Let us not waste time with them!"

The classroom was big enough for thirty students to fit in. Two of them shared a seat. OM shared the seat with Raj. He noticed that Raj already had arrived. As he walked front, he glanced at those boys once again. His face turned red and his fist tightened. With anger he threw the bag at his seat which caught Raj's attention. "Idiots! What can I even say about them!" OM's sentence was probably heard by one of them. OM doubted but nothing happened. He still looked at them as if pitying them. 

"Just ignore" Raj said and they smiled. "But are you nervous?"

"Nervous? Why should I be nervous?" OM inquired. He looked at Raj who had a confused expression on his face.

"You are receiving a prize today silly! Do you remember?". OM nodded. He did not have the faintest idea about any competitions or prizes. Raj informed him that prizes were distributed for the race that had happened earlier and OM stood first. Completely blank in memory OM paused. His eyes turned way big and he almost swallowed his lips. 

"Oh" he said in a rather shocked tone, "I was not informed that it is today."

After a little time, the whole school assembled at the central ground where a stage was made with tents.They all sat patiently on the carpeted floor looking at the stage and those trophees kept neatly on a table beside. Some felt extremely happy that soon they were going in their hands. Some regretted not participating. While others just thanked for the classes they would skip. OM once again felt the sensation in his stomach but this time he knew it was nervousness. His hands and legs shivered and he hardly could speak. He prayed that he should not act silly when his name was announced;  but he knew he would. "And now for the running race" the announcer started with a clear chichi mood in her enthusiasm , "OM from class two". As his name poured out of her mouth, the words hit OM and he startled. A chill ran down his spine and he got up unknowingly. "Go fast" Raj whispered. He saw the whole crowd looking at him with sounds of clapping hands. Did OM know that some of the smiles had expected him to be on stage? After all, he was famous as the 'cute' boy amongst the seniors. Overwhelmed, he walked to the stage. Though it was he who did, he was still confused of how he had gathered enough courage for the act.

The boys who had been teasing him since a long time, suddenly seemed friendly. They gave hands to OM, congratulating and touching the trophy in a very absurd manner. OM still looked at them as if in pity. "Foolish" he called them, "Don't break it!" With much possible arrogance in display, he walked towards the genuine smile - Raj. "And me for the singing competition" said Raj and both laughed looking at each other in happiness of the win. The rest of the day continued.