Finally understood:General Stories

Finally understood!

Story: Saad Rohail

IAM QUITE hopeless when it comes to understanding things. I could even be called insensitive. Maybe, I am no different from other guys my age. I never take things seriously, like when my mum tells me to respect what I have in life ... to value my good fortune. At such times, I ask
myself, "What does she mean by that?"

Frankly, I do not know what she means, or maybe, I have not tried hard enough to understand, but what I know is that life is to enjoy. We are meant to have fun in life. I think I used to drive my mum mad with this attitude of mine. Well, before I go on, let me introduce myself. My name is Edmond Leigh Jones, but everyone calls me Mike. My grandmother gave me the name Leigh. She said that it had a classy touch to it. I never understood what she meant, but it does not matter.

I am 14 years old. I am always getting into trouble. In fact, I go searching for it at school and everywhere else. That is enough for an introduction.

Now it's time for me to tell my story that changed the way I looked at life. It all happened one morning, when I woke up and realised that it was day of our school trip. I had woken up late, and that was because I had watched a movie until late the night before. I jumped out of bed and walked to the toilet when.... "Wake up, Mike, you're going to be late for school!" shouted mum. I just hate it when people remind me about things I already know.

Anyway, I got ready, and went down for breakfast. I heard the bus, so I grabbed a sandwich and left. Mum hates it when I do that. Chris, as usual, had saved me a seat. He is my best friend. His real name is Christopher Morgan, and he lives two blocks away from where I live. We know each other since the first grade. "So, what movie was showing last night?" he asked. He had noticed the sandwich I had in my hand, and knew that I had watched a movie last night, and so I had woken up late. I always tell him about the movie the next day. That is how we pass the long, boring bus ride to school. "It was Alien Encounter," I told him.

"You remember today is the trip, don't you?" asked Chris. "Yes, I do," I replied. "We are just visiting some Handicap Centre or something like that." I was not quite bothered about this trip because I found such things boring. I just wanted to miss school. "Mike, you know you should start taking things seriously," said Chris. "This isn't just any school trip; this is a lesson for us to understand the value of life."
"What's up with you and this entire 'take it seriously' thing?" I said. "You sound like my mum. I have never seen you so worked up like this about a boring school trip." Chris was starting to annoy me with his serious attitude towards school stuff. Therefore, I just looked away as if I was not interested. I saw him taking out a writing pad and a pen, to write down what he would learn about what he called 'the value of life'. We reached the centre after a while. I talked to Chris as we walked to the Centre from the bus, and apologised. Even I had pulled out a writing pad and a pen. For once, I was going to take things seriously, or at least give it a try, I decided.

Everyone entered the Centre. I asked Mr Dermot, our teacher, what we were supposed to do. He told me that we should enjoy ourselves with our new friends at the Centre. As I looked around, I saw guys our age in wheel chairs. That surprised me. "Chris! I didn't know there were youngsters like us here!" I said. "I thought they would all be old and...." "Of course, there are only youngsters here," said Chris. "And we have come here to get to know them ... to make them happy, and let them enjoy this one day. And Mike, please don't ask too many stupid questions like, how? When? Why? Okay? It's bad manners." "I am not a baby, you know!" I shouted. "You don't have to tell me things I already know!"
What did he think he was, some almighty person with all the knowledge in the world? I do not need to be told about things all the time. I know things, too, I thought. We were supposed to make friends and have a wonderful time. So, let me begin, I thought. By then, the other guys, including Chris had already wandered off to make someone's day. l looked around and saw a boy who was sitting far away, alone, under a shady tree. I walked towards him. "Hi! My name is Edmond," I said. "Hi, l am Roberts; you can call me Rob," he replied. "You can call me Mike," I said. "It's a nice day, isn't it?" "It's okay...." he said.

"So, wanna do something fun?" I asked. "There is nothing I can do that you can," he replied. "What's wrong with you? Why are you so filled with self-pity?" I asked. "You can do anything I can." "My legs are paralysed for life," replied Rob. "I cannot walk." It was then I noticed the wheel chair. "Hey! You wanna go and play basketball? I brought one with me," I asked. "Yeah, sure," Rob said with a resigned shrug.

As he pushed himself forward, I walked beside him, and we went to the court and played one-on-one - he on his chair, and I, on my feet. At first, I let him shoot without any interference, but when I tried to interfere, I could not still stop him. He was quite good! Then I invited his friend, Anthony, and Chris, to join us. Rob and I played against Christ and Anthony. They could not beat us, because Rob kept on scoring. I only scored once. We were really enjoying ourselves. We won the match!

"I've never enjoyed myself so much!" Anthony said. "And this is the first time I have seen Rob so happy and enjoying himself." "Yeah! He even discovered his hidden talent," I told them. "He is good at basketball." Soon, it was time for us to leave. The bus had arrived to take us back. "Bye! I will keep in touch," I told Rob and Anthony. "I hope to see you again." "Bye, I had a great time," said Rob. "Thanks for helping me enjoy myself."

"Its not because of me," I replied. "You just had to stop feeling lonely and sad, and here you are! You can do anything." "Bye!" said Anthony. "Bye!" Rob shouted once again, as we got into the bus. Chris and I were sitting silently, and were recalling the things that had happened during the day.

"You know, this was the best day of my life," Chris said. "I will never forget it." "Me, too," I said. "I helped someone, and Rob discovered his talent ... and I learnt the value of life." The words had come out without my knowledge.
"Life is full of incidents like this!" said Chris. That was when I learnt how to live life and respect and value what I have in life. I finally understood!

Mention NM