Breathing leisurely -1 “Friend”

The sudden ringing of a bell caught my attention; I gazed out the window to see my favorite ice-cream wallah passing down the street. The thought of having an ice cream with sweat beads dancing circles on my forehead was very tempting. I emptied pockets on the table in front of me, my treasures hence were revealed to the world. Besides the ten rupee note I was pursuing, another glittering object caught my attention, looking around making sure I was seen by no one I laughed. The shimmering glass key ring beamed right at my face, it was the shape of a cube with my name smeared across it in golden letters. This was my most cherished fortune, my name on the discounted glass cube. I celebrated my 11th birthday last year and it was precisely on the same date this affluent asset was gifted to me. My entire channel of thoughts was disrupted by incessant clattering of the same bell, I thrusted the ten rupee note in my pouch, clutched my key ring in the other hand and ran at full speed so as not to let my moment of ecstasy, Feel of the soft cold ice cream on my lips desert me in the awry summer heat. My moment of triumph was not so far away when out of nowhere a cricket ball made contact with my skull sending acute pain signals to my brain. I cried out loud and fell on the ground in a loud thud. The ringing of the ice cream bell continued and mixing with the pulses of agony it nurtured an apprehensive melody which I was too terrified to comprehend. Time flew past as I lost touch with reality; I had no clue for how long I lay there, till a felt a hand caressing my back. It took me a herculean effort to open my eyes and my visibility was restricted. I focused hard to realize it was my best friend sitting next to me. He chuckled and after a heartily laugh spoke “You poor thing, you weakling, you are hit by a cricket ball and you pass out? Forget your dreams of making it to our school cricket team, you should go and play with girls. They will not put you in any danger” He caught my hand and helped me stand up. I tried to speak but I could not, the agony was a lot to bear. I smiled at him and tried to walk as he held my waist for support. Together we walked a few steps; the comfort of having my buddy beside me was enchanting. The despair, the helplessness and the pain all of it were beginning to fade away. Suddenly the crunching sound of a glass breaking pinched in our ears, I looked down to see myself standing on my treasure, my prized possession, my glass cube key chain which was now shattered into pieces. The letters of my name were now broken apart and the golden glory of it had been dusted down. Before I could swallow this throbbing sense of loss building in me i was knocked down, I laid flat bellied on the ground I had just risen from. A shadow loomed on my face as I realized I had been punched in the back and the pain, the agony was back. My best friend leaped on my chest and shouted “Could this be true? Is this how you repay me back? That key chain was a symbol of our friendship; it patronized the bond we shared. You know how much I had to undergo to get you that key chain. I stole money from dad and spent my three week’s pocket money on it, it was something I did for you and you threw it away? If you didn’t like it, if you didn’t want it you could have told me, I could have taken it back and got you something better, something you would probably like, you let me down. You threw away my birthday gift, you hurt me, and you are a scoundrel” Another blow landed fresh on my face and before I could utter a word, he ran away with tears swelled in his eyes. I was shattered, my whole body felt as if it was on fire. I lay there for some more time, it took me a while to muster up courage and feel the earth on my feet. Gravity of the gruesome situation I was in struck me, my face had swelled up and for once in my life I could feel my nose. I ran fingers over my face and each contact secured new spots of agony. I chose to stop my investigating lessons and instead focus on rectifying the situation. My best friend thought I did not care for him and his feelings, He thought I had purposely thrown his gift away. Water ran down my cheeks as I dragged myself along. Amidst all of this the ringing of bell still persisted, echoing hauntingly with my thoughts the tune of it repeatedly pierced my ears. I checked my pouch to see the ten rupee yawing drowsily at me. Without wasting time I marched for my aim, the bell it’s ringing and the ice cream wallah I counted on to melt my troubles away. Each movement caused my legs to stumble and twinge. But I chose not to give up; grabbing the ice cream cone in my hand I accelerated further shouting my best friend’s name along. It took me a while to catch up with him and the look on his face proved he was not very amused. “I am very sorry” I said, “it wasn’t my fault, I was searching money for this ice cream when I found the chain in my pouch, and you know how much I love that thing. I carry it along every school day, always keep it with me and today when I was knocked over it fell to the ground and I stamped on it” “You know how much I love you, you are the bestest friend I have. You are my robin” He clenched his fist together mockingly pretending to knock me down again “Okay” I grinned “You are batman; I have no problem being robin. So Mr. Batman, this ice cream is for you and I am really sorry” I cried and pushed the ice cream cone to his hands. He smelled the aroma of it and smirked “I am sorry too” I stood there watching him bathe in my bliss of ecstasy as sweat beats again circled my forehead. The heat was agonizing and my body ached, but I felt content. I had renewed my bestest friendship and added a new chapter to it. I giggled as my best friend leaped in the air to shout “We are the bestest friends forever”