The Stranger

Its quite usual to come across strangers in life, sometimes we befriend them, or ignore them and sometimes we fight them. I would like to tell you the story of this stranger.

The other day we were playing cricket in the hostel and the ball was hit high and it got stuck on the ledge just below the roof. I volunteered to get the ball on the condition that all my stunts would be captured on camera. I climbed into the balcony on the second floor and stood on the edge giving poses for camera and then I reached for the ledge balancing myself on the edge. But our dear ball was stuck in no‐man's land and I could not get my hands on it. I decided to swing myself so that I could get near the ball. My legs were hanging in the air and my hands gripped the ledge but the ball was still out of reach.

Someone shouted from below some words of encouragement to get going. Then came another voice "Do you want him dead, idiot? He may not care for his life but if he falls we will be held responsible".

Then I looked below, one wrong move, that’s it, I am dead. I had come too far from the balcony and could not find a foothold. Then a funny thought came to my mind that if I fall, these guys might face a police case and I feared more for them than for myself. I was hanging and still could not find a foothold and could feel beads of sweat on my forehead on a cold winter day. It was fear, it had crept up my spine and I was holding to my dear life. I was no longer in control. I calmed down and tried to pull myself back to the balcony. Some of my friends reached the balcony and held out their hands to grab me and they pulled me to safety. My heart started beating faster now when I visualized the scene of my fall. I would have fallen on the badminton pole and would have got impaled to death.

I retired to my room and gulped down half a bottle of water and sat on my bed visualizing the scene. It was giving me both the thrill and the shivers. I decided to take a walk and clear my head of all that just happened.

A stranger came up to me and said "You are bold but extremely crazy". I gave him a curt smile and said "Thank You". He asked "Don't you care for your life doing such dangerous things just for nothing?". I joked "Had I fallen, my friends would have earned some money by uploading the video on YouTube "Amazing Videos". It did not go down well with him and he asked me to respect and care life and then moved away. I retorted back "I know what to do with my life". He had moved few steps away but stopped and turned around.

To my astonishment, he disintegrated into millions of bee like creatures. The swarm of bees moved towards me and I ran for my life. They kept closing in on me and then I fell to the ground and pulled my jacket over my head to protect myself. Those creatures covered me like a blanket stinging through my clothes. I tried to move my hand but could not move a limb as if I was paralyzed. I tried to shout for help but my voice could not make it to my throat. I felt my life was being sucked out of me and could small the scent of death.

A part of me wanted to give up as it could not bear the pain anymore but something in my head shouted " I am not going to die like this, not without a fight or purpose". I decided to fight to the last and with all my remaining strength I shouted and gave a thrust to my limbs. Then I woke up from my bed and then realized it was all a nightmare. I was sweating heavily and my shirt and hair were wet with sweat. I calmed down and said to myself either I would live a purposeful life or die a purposeful death.

The stranger, should I call him Death or Devil made me realize how precious this life is and I have been given a chance to make it purposeful.