The Ladder to a Great Victory – Short Story Friends
Photo credit: cohdra from morguefile.com
“What you sow is what you reap”. It’s said that the Divine judges our deeds and sets our future accordingly. Then what’s the point in having the brain which has changed us from primitive apes to the modern man. Are we the slaves of our destiny which forms according to our deeds or the masters of our fate? Obviously, we do change our fate but the path we pick is of immense importance.
Shanky blinked his eyes. This was the moment. Every training, criticizes, tips and memories flashed in his mind. Three seconds were remaining and the KTM and his college were at draw in the final match of the inter-college basketball tournament. Adil passed the ball. A huge player was blocking him. Forging to go left , he turned right. However, he was still several meters away from the basket and two defenders were ahead. He took two long steps and soared airborne, the basket was still distant but he took his shoot. Amazingly, the ball hit the board and fell into the basket.
The next moment, cheers surrounded him. As he blinked his eyes, he came back to the restaurant with his best buddies Amit and Gosh. The usual topic was how to make money. Two years had passed since they left the college and still now they were nowhere close to the life which they had dreamt of in their college. Several ideas like starting a bus service , investing in the share market, setting up an NGO had been discussed but initial capital was the hindrance. Days dwindled but they remained at the same economic status.
One day, Gosh came up with an idea. The three musketeers were good programmers. For two years, they worked and finally came up with a computer virus and it’s antivirus. They launched it on the internet. As it had been invented carefully and tested on each previous existing antivirus software, it caused an upheaval. Every major website was targeted. After fifteen days they launched the antivirus.
Soon they became celebrities. Suspicion had aroused but everyone was too happy to get the faults rectified. In fact, during the first three days itself they made one million dollars. Their brilliance was the headlines of every news-channel. The three of them who once shared a single flat had now purchased separate houses. None of them could correctly recall how many pair of shoes he had. Shanky once had a girlfriend in his school but none in his college days. But now, he couldn’t keep a count on them. Amit the nerd, geek and silent had now become the show-stopper of several pubs. The two of them yielded before gambling, drinking, drugs while Gosh’s habits didn’t change much.
In his mind, their success was “… Not a fluke but an organized and coordinated carry out of a ruse. Just like soccer, every man stuck to his part. Success doesn’t come from completing your part but by doing it without any fault. Coordination, amiability among the team mates and the patience to use every move at the right time brings achievement.”
Two years passed. The three friends saw less of each other. However, Shanky one day came to know that Amit had been killed in an accident. He along with Gosh attended the departed friend’s cremation. Sad numb eyes and a heavy heart were evident on seeing him. Gosh also resented the loss of his friend.
After two months, life for Shanky picked the usual course. One day, as he stepped out of his car to enter the disco, he was dragged by two people. He was plummeted into a car and a handkerchief was placed over his nose. The next thing he remembered was waking in a cell with both arms and legs handcuffed. He was given vestiges of meal two times a day. Whenever he abused them, he was beaten and on pleading , he was overlooked. On the fifth night, he figured out that they had got their ransom.
Later that night, he was once again sacked into the car. He was thrown at a desolate land with a cloth covering his face. He was unable to see. Then he heard one of the rogues saying “Let’s see how strong is the brain of a genius”. Within a few seconds, Shanky’s perils were over, he had been freed.
Gosh sat as the chief guest of the basketball tournament of his college. Five seconds were remaining and the match was heading towards a draw. Suddenly, Chris score the basket and hauled his team towards victory. Seeing this a devilish smile covered Gosh’s face, he wondered “Shanky even though the team didn’t win, I won. I’m no longer a slave of my destiny even though I had to sacrifice much!”
__END__
