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Journalism of Courage
Time flows by. Yes, it certainly does. And it is a big healer too. But it is unpredictable, like the wheel of fortune. The moment you pin your hopes on it, it ditches you.
I was 11 years old when life taught me a lesson that time never allowed me to forget. It was a learning experience for me, but how I wish I could unlearn it. I was 11 years old when I first learnt that my father was leaving us. 8220;I8217;m going8221;, he said. I could barely understand what those three words meant. Three words that changed my life and taught me a lot of things. They taught me that you can8217;t be happy if you walk through life. You have to stride through it, as if you were wearing custom-made shoes.
Three words, I know their meaning now. It8217;s been 10 years, but I still remember it like it was yesterday.
It was one of those days on a hot November afternoon. I had acquired a new pair of spectacles and was staring at the 8216;8216;new me8217;8217; in front of the mirror. Someone knocked on the door. It was my dad. A new dad. There was nothing usual about his hug, about the way he consciously dishevelled my hair. New Dad came in and said, 8220;I want to talk to you8221;. Me? 8220;No8230; your mother8221;. And so began what seems like a distant soap-opera now, where both of us were crying, me and my mother. Not my father, he had better things to do. Like start off with a new life. What about me? 8220;You don8217;t understand8221;, he said. 8220;You can still visit me once a week8221;.
As time flew by, once a week turned into once a year, then once in two years. And today I haven8217;t seen him once in the past 10 years. Do I want to? I don8217;t know. What will I say to him?
Time has taught me a few things. Like, everything is pre-ordained. It8217;s not in your hands. You can8217;t do anything about it, at least not when you are 11. Time has also taught me that you can8217;t predict your luck. Not when you are 11, not when you are 21. You have to be ready for each blow that comes your way and choose to walk through each one of them like a winner. Time has also taught me that it is a big healer, but not for me. Had it been one, I wouldn8217;t have remembered all these things, as if they happened yesterday, after 10 years.
