Minnie observed Monie from behind him as Monie put a step ahead at tortoise speed, after school.
Minnie and Monie were grade 9 students with thousands of thoughts captivating their minds, a load of stress of studies and career/future.
But that was not the reason Monie had withdrawn himself from his regular routine.
Minnie had to figure out the reason for Monie’s silence. She wants her friend of the old days when Monie was a bright student, an enthusiast, a caring person, and a brilliant sportsperson.
“Monie! Wait for me !!”, Minnie would call out for him but Monie chose to walk away at the tortoise speed of course. He ignored being in a company.
At the cafeteria during their lunch break, “Did you complete the Science assignment?”, when Minnie asked, Monie did not respond. She tapped on his shoulder, “Are you alright?”, Minnie was worried.
“Ah !”, Monie seemed been waking up. He seemed to have lost his concentration. Minnie sat there staring at Monie.
It was the weekend when Minnie thought to make Monie come out of his thoughts. She called him after school, ” What ate you doing?”. “Ah..”, this was the reply from Monie. “Let’s go to the amusement park today”, Minnie expected Monie to speak out about the further plans usually he would plan to spend the evening at the amusement park.
“I am tired today”, he refused to even try to get up from his bed. “Are you not well ?”, Minnie asked. “No..! I just… want to rest”, Monie replied after a few minutes.
He seemed to have been sleeping since the afternoon.
.
Minnie had to take charge now. She decided to bring Monie back to his normal life.
She recalled the joyous moments when Minnie would be all smiles, encouraging his football teammates, and helping his classmates in understanding difficult topics.
This led her to remember that Monie used to spend his leisure time listening to music.
But it was not so now. She did not see him with his headphones from a few days.
She decided to ask him about it that day at the cafeteria. “Are you not listening to the music of your favorite band today?”, Monie lifted his head to look at Minnie as she asked so. She raised her eyebrows to confirm. He did not reply but continued to chew his lunch.
Minnie just observed his reaction to her question.
On their way home, Minnie was talking one-sidedly. Whether Monie was listening to her or not, was a mystery.
Minnie talked about their class notes, school, her pet, and many more topics. For these, she observed no response from Monie.
She took a deep breath and finally asked him “What is that boy band’s name?”. “Ah..”, he paused and did look at her. “You listen to their music ..!”, she stressed so he can speak up.
“haa..!”, He could not say a word. Minnie got to know that it was something about this boy band and their music that has led Monie to this condition.
Reaching home she ran to the store room and brought down the old newspapers and magazines. It was till late evening that she found a few articles and news about the band.
” They are on hiatus”, “Will they disband?”, “They will be working on their individual projects”, are a few of the headlines she found. She took the night and read every detail of every member of the band.
The next morning she got ready for school. She was excited as she now knew the reason for his change in behavior. “You know something!”, Minnie started to talk to Monie.
“I was listening to the ‘Wake up’ tracklist and felt I can live back then my good old days.”, she paused and curiously waited for Monie’s reaction. “I can listen to them the whole day, in a loop”, she could see the change in Monie’s facial expression. There was a small hope lit on his face. “They have told us ‘Life goes on’, not to stop living but to live life no matter what!”. She would talk about the band members and their music for the next few days.
“I am your hope, you are my hope”, gave a feed to Monie’s brain cells. “You should always smile in life”, was a note in his Physics class book that brought back Monie to reality.
‘Ting’.. they were in a school van returning home when his mobile phone got a message. Monie opened it to see an audio message. The message played as a dong with the lyrics
“Days when you hate yourself,
Days when you wanna disappear
Let’s make a door in your heart
Open the door and this place will await
It’s okay to believe
I will comfort you
The Magic Shop..”
This song brought tears to Monie’s eyes. He cried his heart out covering himself in his duvet. This eased his restlessness. But it also encouraged Monie and he decided to talk with Minnie. Minnie was all smiles when she found Monie back in his life.
Here’s for all of us, alive and lively –
Sadness is but a wall between two gardens.
There is hope, even when your brain tells you there isn’t.
Getting better from sadness demands a lifelong commitment. I have made that commitment for my life’s sake and for the sake of those who love me. So join me in this, Lifetime Happiness goal.
To all our readers and beyond. You are allowed to feel messed up inside and out. It doesn’t mean you’re defective—it just means you’re human!
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Kids passion short stories 