All I want is your eye: A freedom tale

 

"I didn't give birth to a fool". These were my dad's words. I ran home again after being bullied by kids who didn't look as healthy as I was. I was in all material respect taller and should probably have been the bully but got bullied anyways. This is a story of a young boy who snatched himself from the wicked jaws of bullies. There comes a time in life when we have to stand up against our adversity. To overcome our demons, we sometimes have to get frontal. This is not in any way an excuse for violence. However, freedom is rarely given freely. It must be demanded.

Growing up, I had my fair share of the good, the bad and the damn right ugly. I guess this is not a big deal as everyone seems to have their own account of the three elements (the Good, Bad & Ugly). I enjoyed the late night sitcoms which saw the streets empty. No one wanted to miss any part of any episode. I loved playing hide and seek using my well sculpted wooden gun my dad designed for me. I was a super star with my shakabula (Local gun). On it was engraved "Femo the Field Marshall". Boy oh boy! I did shine with that gun. This was the only toy I had. I remember how my family (four of us) shared two boiled eggs at suppers. In a very weird sense, I kind of enjoyed being seldom sent away from school for unpaid school fees. I really didn't like school. The best part of the day was always the long break when I and my group of loners spent telling tales and stories as we heard from the story telling elders. I was also uber-absent minded. Many children relished excursions but I never went on any. Excursion was a luxury item if you know what I mean.

I must have attracted for myself a few haters who made it a lofty enterprise to waylay (bully) me. Boy did I get bullied? I received plenty of that. It’s amazing but, I didn't particularly have much of good clothes. There were few comparative advantages but nothing exotic. If for anything though, I must have fit perfectly into a victim's archetype. I had notoriously loopy ears that stood on my head and shoulders. I think, I was very aware of them (my loopy ears) and got haunted for that (lol). I was lily-livered and cried at every slightest advance by the bullies. I can't remember how many times I ran home to report to my parents how some silly fellow(s) had done x and y. After multiple scolding by my dad, I had to find a way out of my incessant misery. Enough was enough.

The next event that unfolded could have landed me in a remand home for juvenile offense. It was a hide and seek game that turned into a brawl and someone almost lost his eye. His ocular cavity received the unrelenting penetration of my dad's horticulturist knife. The last thing I remember before the pandemonium took over the buzzing street was that three boys (all of the same parent) were having a field day singing, clapping and dancing after me as if I had popped in my pants. What their motivation was remains a mystery. I was outnumbered and I had no father to run to. It was all in my hands. I remember I threatened I was going to hurt them. I remember I raced upstairs where my dad kept the garden knife he had used to plant some flowers. That was the last thing I remember. The next thing I saw was that the whole street was upside down. I saw how my victim was rushed into a taxi. Thank God he survived. Reports said I missed his eye by whiskers. The poor boy in question lives with the scar to tell the story. I honestly regret my action.

In the weeks that came after the fiasco, I suddenly became a terror. The bullies avoided me like leprosy. It really did hurt but I truly enjoyed being free from the jaw of my bullies. About the same month, I got admitted into the boarding school. This probably was the break I needed. At last, I was free. I won't advise a violent approach to breaking off the shackles of oppression but after two decades with a lot more lessons learned, I have come to believe that freedom must be demanded.

I spoke to one of  my ex-bullies yesterday over the phone. We had a good laugh talking about this event and some other high points.

Image Credit: Google Image