A Precious Life

           To start with the story, I first wish to tell about the selfishness in human. Today in this modern world no one is ready to sacrifice a small thing in their lives for the sake of their closest ones. I have seen things where lovable parents get ignored by children, Fighting’s for Money, people deceiving each other in the mask of Love, ready to do anything for sake of money forgetting all ethics etc., at least a wrong among the said is carried in every character in this civilized world. We are giving the characters said, to the next generation as well to continue…

                A Continuous thought on the same made me to think what happens to a person who gets a boon to sacrifice the best which is not expected by anyone. Will he do it? And what happens if he do so, is my writing. My story moves around a character ASHOK.

                ASHOK is a student of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering, who wish to complete all the subjects in semester with a single attempt but writes forever. Becomes a one way lover to all girls who comes in his way. Not so intelligent, smart but have lots of belief in god when failed in anything and ignores him as well once he crosses the hurdle. To be simple he is a common man just like many of us. He comes to the final year of his studies and now stands in a point to see and learn something in real. The students of Final year planned with an Industrial tour by the management excluding Goa and Shimla which is submitted in students plan. But students never want to leave their entertainment behind, so convinced them.

                Tour Start’s with lots of enjoyment, fun, learning a lot and on the way to reach SHIMLA. As per the plan they took train from KALKA station to SHIMLA. It was a very rainy day and climate is awesome. Train moves with a speed of 20km/hour over the hill. Suddenly the train gets stopped as the rocks fell over the track and it’s communicated to passengers that it will take time for clearing it off.

                As we usually do, students got down the train and started to take awesome photos to the hill-region. ASHOK with his friends started to climb a small hill for taking photos. The Images came out very well and they are more excited to go on little inside the region away from track. Suddenly ASHOK slips from the top and fells down in Valley.

                Days passed, no one knows what has happened to ASHOK. Everyone is almost forgetting him. Then in deep of the valleys Ashok slowly opened his eyes and before him he sees a Sage just floating in air. 

            

                  With Surprise he asks him if he is alive, finds no answer. Asks him where he is, finds no answer. ASHOK found himself with injuries, sleeps there only watching the sage all the time. Some more days Passed and ASHOK injuries are healed. All the days he was talking to the sage and was never answered. 

           ASHOK decided to make a move and asks him the way again. He shows his finger gently when a light glows at the end of the path. Sage asked him to follow the light. ASHOK thanks him for saving his life then sage says him, “you are not living your life anymore. I have sacrificed all my years of life when you are dead to make you alive again and now you also have the boon to give away your life time or share your life period to the people who really require.”

                ASHOK in a surprising tone asks him if he is really dead and gets the answer, YES. SAGE tells him again that he will die in 35 years from the day he got rescued and his age of life will decrease whenever he sacrifices some period to anyone. ASHOK thinks in mind if he sacrifices 1 year to anyone he can live only for 34 years. He doesn’t want to waste a single second of his life. He moves away from the SAGE following the path of light.

               In days he reach a road and from there he manages to come back home. Everyone gets surprised on seeing him as months passed after his missing. ASHOK doesn’t want to say the all story to everyone as he don’t want anyone to laugh at him. For Every one he is only injured and rescued by someone.

                Days passed, ASHOK completed Engineering and finds a good job. Gets married and have kids now. His life becomes a normal one and he never wanted to miss any second of his life without happiness. Every time he finds someone in need of such help he can do, he thought of not doing so as he will lose his own life. 

                One day he receives a call from his mother. Knowing about his father’s illness he rushes to his native. He approaches his father to talk to him but gets shocked with what he says.  Father tells ASHOK that his mother is suffering with cancer from long time and now her life is only 6 Months. He feels sad as he cannot spend that 6 months also with her. He tells ASHOK that all her life she served him but in the time when she needs help, he is unable to do it. ASHOK remains silent for days he watches his father approaching his last days and still trying to help his mother, suddenly he remembers the sage who gave him the boon. He never know how it works, but decides to give away his some life span to his father and mother.

                Remembering the sage who saved his life for the first time, with pure heart he gives away 1 year to his father and 6 more months to his mother. Next day in morning he sees his father recovered and mother sitting happy at him. He decides to be with them all this one year of time to see them happy on every moment. What else is more important...!!

                One day ASHOK and his family attends to a close relative’s marriage, where suddenly the father of the bride dies with heart stroke. Marriage gets stopped. Everyone says that all the efforts of bride’s father are gone wasted. If he would have been alive for one more day also, this marriage would give him delight before death. Listening to the words ASHOK felt it’s the time to sacrifice again. He remembers the sage in mind and gives her father a 2 days of life. Father of the bride comes back to life and fulfills his wish of daughter’s marriage.

                Days passed, one day when ASHOK is going to Railway station. He sees an accident where 3 year old kid lies on the side of a road and his father, mother died. He remembers his son of the same age and feels bad for his future. He decides to give life to one among the parents and choses his father. He gives away 15 years of his life to him and makes him alive again. 

With happiness and proudness, ASHOK started spending his life. He shared his life to many people who really require it. He fulfilled the last wishes of parents and sent them happily.

One day he becomes ill suddenly and understands that he has sacrificed all his life in very short time. Starts calculating his last day and gets shocked. His last day of life is calculated as in next week. ASHOK becomes depressed to see his son & wife. Understanding what done by him is irreversible, he becomes sad. 

Watching ASHOK in sadness, his wife approaches him and asks for the reason. ASHOK being in sort of emotion tells her the entire story. His wife gets fainted listening to what he said. He consoles her to recover from that sorrow, but she didn’t stop shedding tears for him. A day after, in the morning she approaches him and asks why cannot he go back again to the same SAGE begging for more life. ASHOK agreeing to what she asked starts to Shimla again with his family. As a last trial they made their journey with heavy hearts and reached Kalka. He hardly remembers the place where he fell and also the place where he came out. Says good bye to his family with heavy heart and painful smile. Wife with a hope of seeing him again sends to unknown journey. 

He starts to walk now in the way towards sage. He remembers the day when sage has shown the light of way to come out from the shadows where he has fallen. He remembers the glance of days which are spent with sage alone. He remembers the days spent with his parents in their last moments. He remembers the proud moments when he shared his life to all the required persons. He remembers his wife, child one time again. Remembering everything, he feels it is not correct to ask for life again. He feels that his life is meant for it and he lived proudly.

He reached the place where he saw the sage for last time. Looks for him around and finds no one. He calls at him, “ O..Sage ..!! I have done what you have asked.” Now it’s time for me to leave this world. The only one wish left on my mind is to see you again. You are the one who gave me a meaningful life and I am proud of me now. Please bless me with your appearance again for eternity.”

Sage appeared before ASHOK. Pleased for what he has asked smiles and says, “Dear now it’s the time for you to live your life again. I have given my life to save you at that time and it ended now, but you are yet to live yours. You still have the boon to sacrifice your life time but it’s from your life now.”

ASHOK feels happy for what the sage said, asks him how much life more he have?

SAGE answers, no one on earth knows his fate and life period. You are also one among them.

ASHOK thanks him for the Boon given and asks him if he can see him again?

SAGE answers, you lived my life and so I am with you every time. You can concentrate to talk with me any time.

ASHOK takes leave from him with his blessings and reaches the light where his family awaits. Lives a happy life with more proud moments as earlier. He learns that Life is a precious gift from god and it should have worthy pages.

                Everyone has lot to learn from ASHOK’s life. A Small Sacrifice of ours is meant a lot to others, though it’s small we never do it. We feel 10 Rupees as Huge amount to give a poor man who asks for food, we feels the same amount as less while paying a tip in restaurant. We feel very less while taking anything but feel as too much when you have to give. Humans are forgetting to help each other. They are living in a confusion like loving machines and using Humans which is to be done in reverse. I say--Help others to help yourself, Love Others to Love Yourself.