Spring

Life has so many folds in it, that you can spend a lifetime travelling, yet you would have the fortune (or misfortune) of experiencing only a part of the world wants to make you experience.

In beastly cities that do not sleep, finding a quiet time and a place unbothered by people, is hard to find. One might need luck to ever find it, or create it. It was a drowsy afternoon of a Sunday in March that I was travelling to my class on a bus. Don’t ask me the name of the city where I was, or where I was going, not only because you would forget it in a day, but also because the story that is about to follow will make you want to read it again for a reason, and I don’t want to write a thesis before I start narrating the story.

So, as I was saying, I was onboard a bus. Sunday afternoons are a favorite of mine, because you’d get to experience the world without losing yourself in a crowd. On top of that, I got a window seat that day. The sun had done half its stroll in a clear sky, and its golden-yellow might shimmered through my half-empty bus’s window. (If you’re an introvert, you probably got turned on at this point). I was lost in daydreaming, as usual. The bus had all sorts of people in it, people who were in a hurry, people who were relaxed, a few children with their mothers maybe, a few old men, a young couple, and of course the conductor (whom I was thinking to make a fool of by getting off without buying a ticket. No, don’t judge me! I’m the author. Authors are not judged!). The seat beside me was empty, and across the aisle opposite to me, a rather disturbed mother sat with her four or maybe five-year old daughter. While the mother was blankly staring out the window, the daughter played with a key ring on her tiny bag. She was joyous, without a worry in the world.

My daydreaming was interrupted when the bus halted at a bus stop, and a few passengers came on board. Among them was a rather peculiar man, who seemed to be frantically searching for an empty seat, which was strange because half the bus was empty. Finally, he chose to sit beside me. Sitting took away his restlessness, as he glanced around and finally rejoiced that he had finally gotten an empty bus.

Let me tell you something about daydreaming. It is just like sleep - if it gets interrupted, you're done for. You can pine for it to come back, but it won't. I decided to simply look around, see other passengers to pass my time. I saw the man was looking at that little girl with a caring smile on his face as she showed him her keyring on her bag. I must say, I've never seen a man looking so happy seeing a keychain. What was there in that keychain? Or maybe it was the excitement of the girl that made him happy. Joyous children do posses something that makes everyone around them happy. The mother, on the other hand, seemed to be reluctant to allow her daughter to talk to a stranger, and even eyed her once or twice to not get over-excited to the stranger. The man simply smiled. He wasn't offended. Maybe he's used to people feeling unsafe around him for some reason. Messy hairs aren't something that people should fear, because except that, I found nothing that would make me doubt the man to the slightest. I could clearly see that though his hairs were messy, his face was clean-shaven. He was in his thirties maybe. I began seeing other people around me. My stop was still far.

A few minutes passed. The man took out a lollipop from his pocket, and offered it to the girl. It is rather very unlikely a man would have a lollipop if he has no child to give it to. Maybe he liked lollipops too, that's why he kept one. The mother, just like before, scrutinised the man with judging eyes, but although she didn't stop his daughter from taking it, she did look outside the window with contempt. I wish people were more tolerant of each other. The girl was elated as she opened it up, and smiled widely at the man. I got to say, even I became happy seeing her smile. Then I saw the man. He was smiling too. Taking out his handkerchief from his pocket, he wiped the sweat off his forehead, and then asked the girl, "Do you want to hear a story?". She was all excited, and turned to her side facing the man, and in her sweet and excited voice said, "Yes". The man turned around a bit, and said, "Very well, let's begin." He took a breath, and calmly putting on the voice of an expressive story-teller, began telling a story.

"Once upon a time, in a far-away land, there lived a Prince."

It was a fairy tale it seemed. With nothing better to do, I thought to give it a listen to pass my time.

"He was a handsome looking young boy living in a beautiful kingdom. He studied the art of governance...", the man thought for a second and continued, "...and archery, and almost always got others' jealousy for how he excelled. He, however, never kept ill-thoughts."

Archery and governance? I've never heard of a fairy tale where the Prince studied anything! Maybe the man wanted a little more different story than the others?

"In those times, it was necessary for every archer to prove his skills in a competition that took place each year in the kingdom, and only if he won would he be allowed to pursue further archery tournaments.

The Prince, as I said, was an excellent archer, who knew his ways with his bow. While others simply practised shooting, the Prince searched for new ways to ace difficult shots!

Finally, the day of the competition came, and the Prince performed to his best, and eagerly waited for the result. He had many difficult targets to hit - moving stuffed dears, a hanging ring, oh you name it, he had it! He had hoped to win, but as fate would have it, he didn't score even remotely as good as the fellow princes!"

At this, the man mocked up a sad face to add some realism to the narration. The little girl however, seemed disheartened at this. I thought to myself, "What are you doing, dear sir? Fairy tales are supposed to make you happy, not the opposite!". Did the man listen? Of course not! It was just a monologue I had.

Seeing the girl frowning, the man decided to bring a happy twist into this tale.

"It is said that fate would give you what you want, but not in a way you'd think of; it has its own ways...confusing ways."

Her mother looked for a split-second at the man, then moving her head towards the window, shaked her head in disagreement, then continued to look outside the window. I didn't know she was listening to the tale too.

The man continued, "Anyways, demotivated, the Prince sidelined archery, and pursued governance. The King, his father, had already chosen him as his heir, and had him sent to a neighbouring kingdom, where he was to take lessons in the matters of state and governance.

One day, while strolling in a garden, the Prince met the beautiful and fair Princess of that Kingdom. No one was a match for her beauty and talents." Changing back to his original voice, he said, "And since this is a fairy-tale, we'd let them fall in love with one another, no questions asked", and smiled. The girl giggled, and hugged her bag, and gestured impatiently to continue. Maybe the addition of a Princess had stirred her up!

"Ahem...", putting back his other voice, he continued, "For months and months they spent a lovely time in each others' company, and they roamed around the lovely Kingdom with so many things to see! They loved each other dearly!

After a few years, they were done with governance, and the Prince decided to revive his old love for archery again. The Princess's love changed his outlook on life, and he was ready to pursue archery again!".

"What is 'outlook'?", asked the little girl.

"It's the opinion we have on things", the man explained. The little girl thought about it looking at the ceiling, then continued listening.

"Nothing lasts forever, and as fate may have it, the Prince's father, the King died of old age, and the Prince was anointed as the new King. Although saddened by his death, the Prince, or shall I say, the new king, soon wanted to marry the Princess and make her his Queen, which soon happened. Their royal wedding was a sight to behold, with more than all the riches a man can even dream throughout his lifetime! The King and the Queen lived happily in their majestic palace. After a year, they were blessed with the news that that a little Prince or....", adding some excitement, "a Princess was along the way!".

The little girl was attentive, but her mother was lost in thoughts, staring blankly in front of her.

"Soon though, there was a war. Word had reached the King that an enemy King from a far-away kingdom was marching with his army towards his Kingdom. He was a vicious, murderous tyrant, for he was burning all of the villages on his way." There was a clearly visible anger in the man's voice which was not fake.

"The King fought valiantly, but his army was no match against that of the enemy's - they were much greater in number. The enemy king, no doubt, was far richer to have sustained such a large army. The King was no coward though, and he fought on and on besides his soldiers. But, courage was not enough probably.

Knowing that the enemy would soon attack his castle too where he had kept the Queen, he escaped the battlefield to go back to his castle. He knew the battle could not be won, and so he planned to take her and leave. He was ready to lose his riches, but not his beloved and his yet to be born daughter.

Upon reaching the castle, he was surprised to see his guards had been already killed. He hurried inside, preparing to fight any enemy there. And do you know what he found inside?", he asked the girl. I could sense the rage boiling inside him. He's just telling a story, what was there to be so angry about? And besides, this story is a little too intense for a little girl's fairy-tale.

"Do you know what he saw? He saw his Queen frolicking with the enemy King!".

"WHAT!?", I exclaimed! The man looked at me, and realized that I was listening to the tale too. This is not a story one should tell a child! I looked at her mother. She was as lifeless as a stone. Has she no concern for her daughter? What kind of a mother is she?

"Quite a shock, isn't it?", the man addressed me, very calmly. I could see his rage vanishing. I had a creepy feeling that the story he was making up wasn't a fairy-tale. It's far too real to be just a fairy-tale. Was he... simply telling about himself?

Then he faced the girl and continued, "The King stood frozen. He could not understand what was happening. He looked with a confusing gaze of betrayal at his Queen. They were laughing! The enemy king then revealed that it was she who had been giving him all the information he needed to conquer his kingdom! They had been secretly in love for years, but politics played the upper hand, and she decided to marry the King, only so that she could help her beloved capture the kingdom one day! The King understood that he'd been betrayed. He drew his sword, but the enemy king already had his soldiers hiding in the room. At his command, they jumped on the King, and drove a sword right though his chest!", and then the man proceeded to unbutton his collar and show what looked like to be a scar from a knife-stab!

"Okay, that's enough!", shouted the mother, "Get off this bus this instant or I'll have you thrown off from the door!". He tried calming her down, but to no avail. There was a commotion. Afraid that he might get thrown off, he got up to leave. I could see he got teary-eyed. Maybe the insult was too much for him.  He had no baggage, just himself.

As he got up to leave, he looked at the girl, then he looked at the ground. Wiping his eyes with the right sleeve of his shirt, he muttered, "Take care of our daughter...", and got off the bus.





It took me a minute to realise what the story was all about it. And when I understood it, it hit me like a brick wall.




The commotion calmed down. I was too shocked to utter a thing. After a minute or two, I got off the bus myself. I needed some fresh air. The sun was about to set, and the orangish dusk draped the sky to the West. For the first time since years, I felt swallowed by the crowd. I took another bus home. Spring was coming; I could feel it that night.