The One That Didn't Give Up!

 

Last night's rain had been a deluge. Heavy thunder and lightning had left their marks on the earth. The complex wasn't spared either.

Few trees outside the complex had fallen prey to the deluge. The morning after, the schools declared holiday and office employees were told to work from home.

The kids got hyper-excited about the unexpected holiday. By nine in the morning, the whole lot was out on the complex's park, wearing raincoats and playing games.

The committee members of the colony which included Ved's parents had assembled at the premises to take stock of the situation. Thatha strolled around watching the aftermath of the rains in concern.

Ved left his friends and rushed to him.

"I love unexpected holidays!" He hollered in excitement. "I have already told mom that I am not going to study today."

Thatha smiled and shook his head. Trust kids to find any excuse to be happy and more importantly, to skip their studies! Ved held his hand and walked beside him, talking incessantly. As they turned around a corner, they came across a patch in the garden of the complex.

"Oh no!" Ved exclaimed in shock. Thatha’s worst fears were confirmed.

The patch lay completely uprooted.

On World Environment Day, Ved and his friends, encouraged by Thatha, had sown seeds there. Coriander, Fenugreek, lemons and chillies. The kids had enjoyed a lot, getting their hands dirty and splashing mud on each other, but more importantly, rejoicing in the act of creating new life. The saplings had just begun to sprout. Now they lay in complete disarray. Many of them had been uprooted. What had been a neatly arranged little garden now looked like someone had walked over it.

Ved ran towards the patch and knelt, watching the wreckage in dismay. "All the hard work went down the drain." He called out his friends who came running. All of them stood in silence, looking at the patch in dismay.

Ved came and stood silently beside Thatha who cleared his throat. "Courage is not loud. It's the quiet voice that says, "try again.".

Ved looked at him dully. "Who said this?"

Thatha shrugged. "Don't know. I had come across this quote in a book. Come here. See for yourself." He pointed to the spot where he was standing. Ved reluctantly walked over and searched the ground. Then he gasped. A tiny sprout had survived, raising its head above the ground in defiance.

"This one survived!" Ved exclaimed in awe.

"Yes. And it teaches a valuable lesson. Courage is not about never failing but getting up through every failure. The saplings planted by all of you couldn't make it. But that doesn't mean you should give up. See this one. This survived against all odds. It is a fighter.”

The other kids slowly gathered around Thatha, murmuring in wonder and amazement.

“Keep the one which survived as your inspiration.” Thatha said, “Tomorrow, let's sow some new seeds."

Ved nodded as he kept watching the sprout in wonder. Just like the sprout, he vowed to never give up. He looked at his friends with renewed determination. There was work to do.