Cross the road – and your fears!

I looked at my right- crawling cars and peeping peddlers on a backdrop of a crowded-chawl – all the right things in Pune. But the city served as an acute reminder, “You are not in an IIT”
I turned my gaze to the left – an empty square- no hopes & dreams – nothing was left in the eyes I had stared in the mirror earlier.
I looked straight and stood still. As I closed my eyes, all the memories of that terrible road accident came crashing down on the doors of conscience.
There I was – an FY student, standing at the edge of a road, too afraid to take a step.
“Can you hold my hand?” A strange request made me open my eyes, only to find a 7-year-old child extending his hand towards me.
“My school is on the other side”
That child has grabbed my hand before I even realized, and we were walking down the road, cautiously first, confidently later, and reached the other side in a jiffy.

“Thanks, Bhaiyya (brother). My mom told me – take the help of good people to cross the road now. And when the time is right, you’ll cross it by yourself”

That boy left me with great advice to counter my fears!