By Prekshaa Veeraragavan
It started out slow. Just like any other deadly affliction. The beginning was deemed ‘just a phase’. Get over it!
Only, she didn’t. The universe moved on, just like it always had – dawn, day, night – repeat.
Then, one day, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed it – the occasional minor intolerances. The red danger sign blazing in her face,
sirens screaming at her to just ‘snap out of it’ already. Alas, she was too far gone. Or so she believed.
A few weeks passed, and she caught herself doing it. Again. This time, glaring at a friend who chose to chew her food a
little too loudly and obnoxiously for her taste. Needless to say, it was a swift trip downhill. And things spiraled out of control soon after.
Before long, the walls suffered the savage wrath of her irate fists, in the hushed harmony of exasperated sighs.
That was it! Something simply had to be done soon enough, or she would go stark-raving mad!
Debating desperately if she’d picked the right choice, she sat down to study the flowcharts she’d prepared:
One, “increasing intolerance + annoyance -> extreme anxiety + paranoia -> constant anger + uncontrolled aggression -> INSANITY!”
And two, “increasing intolerance -> Gradual tolerance+ calm demeanor -> Elevated observatory skill -> Wisdom ->Contentment -> ULTIMATE HAPPINESS!”
If only most things in life were that easy! Wouldn’t it feel good to let go of it … all of it! No eyes on the back,
no constant apprehension over what came next, or ‘what if’ s…
Yes. It would be real nice to let go. After all, the world had far graver things to mull over, what with the starving kids,
war and rebellion, and the millions suffering chronic illnesses. They wouldn’t mind letting her go, right? She laughed humorlessly.
What about all the several million resources she had used up during her short lifespan? What an inconsiderate idea to let it all go to
waste like that! Surely, something was to come of it!
Another frustrated sigh sounded in the room. Sometimes, everything seemed a bit too much to handle! Then, she remembered.
She remembered what it felt like to be alive. She remembered that the only reason life gave her ‘lemons’ was to teach her how to make ‘lemonade’.
The corridor echoed with her laughter, as her imaginative mind brought in other pictures.
And, she pondered, not about the ‘purpose of life’ (for that was another story for another time!), but if life were a house,
where was the chimney to ‘vent’ out its frustrating frustrations?!
That got her thinking about her house. At the moment, it was slowly going down in flames, just like all her efforts and strength the
past few months. And, there she was – pathetically looking for the almighty emergency exit! Maybe she would just quietly slip away
some night. No. That wouldn’t do much good either. Besides, she was too much of a coward to ‘bite the bullet’ anyway.
Sometimes, wading through life was like trying to navigate, bare-footed, through an ocean of piranhas! Then, her face lit up in a smug smile.
Because, she wouldn’t mind living it anyway! At least hers wasn’t as dull and boring as some others.
Sure, there was the regular ‘annoyance’ as she termed it, but, it wasn’t something she couldn’t handle! After all, this ‘opportunity’ chose her
for a reason, right? Even if that meant she would play the antagonist in the tale. What’s a good story, without one? But, if it helped her ease up,
she realized that she was always the protagonist in the story of her life! And when the tides are low, she knows she was built to hold on.
In all those years of her life, she hadn’t made a single friend, but, she made up for it with her countless enemies. (Keep your friends close, and enemies closer!)
But, life is a single – player game, where it’s each person for himself/herself! After all, there’s no life without ‘I’!
