Crayons...

I hate school:
Aryan hated school. It was not as exciting as his first day. When his mother told him that he will be going to school, he was so happy and was nearly unable to contain his excitement. He even wondered why the other kids in his class were crying and making a lot of fuzz about leaving their parents and being at school. Now he knew why.
He had to study here. It was no fun. He had thought that school was a place where he could make new friends and play games all day long without his parents interfering and asking him to be careful always. Those were just fantasies parents build up in their children’s mind so that they consent to being send to school. To make matters worse, his teachers even give home work. As if learning stuff in school was not just enough for them. He thought that these teachers were out there to make his life miserable.
He still remembers how eager he was to join school. He even made his father buy him a school bag with Spiderman, his favorite super hero on its back. Added to that he was very particular that his water bottle and lunch box also should be like his bag, with Spiderman on it. He now wished he hadn’t shown so much excitement on the first day. It was true that he had lots of fun that day, but that was short-lived as soon as his teachers started forcing knowledge in to his little brain. He had made lots of friends as he had whished for, but he wasn’t allowed to talk to them during class nor was he allowed to play with them except during the one hour lunch break he gets.
Weekends were the times he longed for. Not having to do homework and not having to go to go to school the next day always brought a happy feeling inside him. Those particular days, he rarely troubled his mother and he was on his best behavior. But again he was cranky whenever he realizes that the weekends are about to get over.
He hated school. Who wouldn’t?

Just one reason:
He saw her sitting all alone by the huge banyan tree in the courtyard. She was sitting all by herself. Aryan stopped his game of cop and thief and ran to her. His friends took no notice of his absence and continued on without him.
He ran back to his classroom and came back with his lunchbox which contained juicy nuggets that his mother had made for him.
“Do you want some?” he offered her.
She looked up to his joyful inviting face. She took one morsel and started nibbling on it. Aryan sat next to her.
“Hi, I am Aryan.”
“Thank you for the food.” She whispered. She had lost her lunch box on the way to school. She was new to this school. Her father frequently gets transferred. The perks of being a government employee.
“I am Paru.” She added.
Aryan was intrigued by her subtle character. She was submissive and scared. Aryan felt a sort of warm feeling towards her. He felt the need to comfort her with his presence.
Since she was not in his class, lunch breaks were the most looked forward moments in his day. He would go to the playground and catch their favorite spot under the banyan tree for her to come. He always brought a little extra for her. Their friendship blossomed.
One day she didn’t turn up as usual. He waited for her till the distant clang of the school bell rang. He had to run back to class. He was heavy hearted. The usual cheer in his presence was wiped out by her absence. On the way back home he stopped by her house to enquire. He realized the she had fever and hence couldn’t make it to school.
One can only imagine the relief Aryan felt when he heard that the reason Paru didn’t come was so trivial. His small mind had feared the worst. He didn’t know how much attached he has become of her. This child’s innocent mind couldn’t comprehend the emotions that were flowing through him. His uncorrupted mind was the temple of love so pure and precious. Even her smallest pain can bring turmoil to his caring soul.
He now had a reason to love school. Paru.

The Separation:
He knew it was the last time he’ll see her. He felt sad. A feeling of heaviness came over him. He had grown fond of her. Now thinking of moving far away from her made him want to cry. But he was a big boy. Big boys don’t cry. He went to his toy cabinet and searched for his favorite Spiderman figure. He wrapped it in the pink hanky she had given him to wrap around his wound when he had fallen and hurt himself trying to pick a mango out of the tree. That was months ago. But he had kept it safe with him as a memory of that incident.
The heaviness in his heart lingered long enough to turn in to an aching pain. He hugged his mother tightly. He never wanted to leave this place. But he had to. His mother told him that he was getting a baby brother and his father got a better job abroad. However nice this new place was going to be, he’ll never forget the childhood he spent here in this beautiful town, the place where he had met his Paru.
As the car pulled away from the drive way, he asked his father to stop by her place. He ran into the house, handed over the wrapped figure to her mother and without saying a word ran back into the car and burst out crying on to his mother’s lap.
Time heals all wounds. This one too.