KINDNESS, A RAY IN DARKNESS!

 

Billy, heading towards school, had a twig in his mouth and was accompanied by a dog. The dog, Montmorency, was the only thing that Billy ever cared for, as he was despised by his parents and was sent to an orphanage at a very young age. But the dog wasn't just a pet to him, he was his pal. Being stranded by its previous owner, Montmorency was a perfect partner for Billy. 

As they neared school, Billy tied his friend to a pole with a lead. On entering the school, he was gazed upon by teenagers. They were murmuring, about Billy being temperamental and disobeying his teachers. Such kind of awkward spotlight was never liked by Billy. His nature was quite vengeful. His past as such had always traumatised him. And thus, he never really cared for other people or their thoughts. Billy quickly kept his bag in the locker and was waiting for the bell to ring. A boy showed up, Charlie. He was a friendly chap and used to get along with people very easily. He asked Billy how he was but instead Billy gave him a cold shoulder. It hurt Charlie at first, but then he made up his mind that he had to figure out what went wrong with his fellow classmate. As days passed on, Charlie kept on convincing Billy to be his friend, but every time it was the same case - rejection. But all this changed soon. 

One day, as Billy was hanging out with Montmorency near a cliff, feeling the cool air and trying to wash his anger away, Charlie followed him to see what he was upto. Billy sat down for a while and then finally stood up. Taking a deep breath, he started to come back. Suddenly, his feet fell on a rock. He tumbled backwards, holding the cliff's end and got suspended in the air. Montmorency was shaking and started running helter-skelter in a chaotic mind. This is when Charlie quickly grabbed some branches and joined those with a rope to make it more firm. Helplessly, Billy burst into tears. He could see the end of his life down the cliff! And help came in front of him. Up he turned to see Charlie holding a bunch of branches and was trying to lift him up. Billy had flashbacks, many of them. Although he had refused to be Charlie's friend a number of times, there... there he was trying to save his life!

Charlie pulled Billy with all his energy and was panting. Billy rushed to the woods behind the cliff, shedding pearl-like tears. He just couldn't comprehend what had happened and wasn't able to believe that anyone except for Montmorency, actually cared for him. Meanwhile, Montmorency came to Billy, tracking his scent. Billy couldn't look at him straight till his mate finally barked at him. He looked at him face-to-face and saw something in his eyes. They were filled with fellow-feeling and compassion. He now realised how Montmorency was always helping him without having a grudge over anyone or anything! Even his miserable past didn't matter to him. He helped Billy regardless of what he had faced. This truth made Billy step back and think for a while, of all the mistakes he had done. He smiled and then laughed aloud making him aware of his child-like behaviour. His best pal wagged his tail with joy. 

Billy got up and headed back to Charlie to make sure that he was alright. There was a sprain in Charlie's leg, and he wasn't able to get up by himself. Billy pulled out a first aid kit he always used to carry in his bag, and tightly applied a cloth on the injured spot. Charlie was shocked at his transformed self! He was surprised at first, but then he was rejoiced to welcome his newest friend to his gang. Calmly, he remembered a saying: 

"Kindness can always be found, even in the darkest of the times!"

~Aryaman Mishra