Spectacles For A Cause

"Ah! Not again. Did you see my spectacles, Kayla? I just misplaced them somewhere around here,” muttered an old bloke. He was rummaging his baggy robes and found nothing. Disappointed, he went to the kitchen and decided to make a cup of tea for himself. The door slammed with a bang. "Is someone there? I’ve got a letter for Mr Vinod,” said the postman. "Enter at your own risk, will you?” said the old man. The postman recognized Mr Vinod, a fine old man. He left the letter on the wooden table and soon left the place. Mr Vinod was bemused as he had no one to care other than Kayla.

He tore the envelope and a pendant fell from it. "Very strange, isn’t it, Kayla?” he said. Standing as frozen as ice, he saw his old school trunk near the chair. He stepped out of the house with the letter and decided to visit his school. He rode across the park and reached a dank, creepy building. Though it looked gloom, that place had brightened great minds for decades. He sat on the bench nearby and was staring at that. The building was a school which took place in Vinod's heart as a dream place. Since his childhood, he suffered from poverty and all he could see was bombs and guns. Grown-up in a socially and economically struggling family, he worked with his father, making posters with slogans like ‘All we need is freedom’.

Usually, these words were not written using ink but were scrawled using blood of brave lives who sacrificed themselves for the nation. Those times were really hard. He had no time to imagine how a school looks like or how can it serve him a good future. Every day, he scampered from village to village to sell chapatis. Those contained secret messages, so he was one of the protagonists in accomplishing the mission to attain freedom. On the way, he saw kids around his age carrying books and writing board with them. Feeling awkward about his situation, he came back home carrying a gloomy face. His next-door neighbour, who was jovial and a good companion of Vinod, called him and gave him a letter to read. Vinod was perplexed. As he read, Vinod found that he gained little freedom to dream about his future. As soon as he finished reading, he hugged the neighbour tightly, as if he found a hidden treasure after a great effort. Subbu, his best friend, was ready to spend some time every day to teach Vinod.

Vinod didn’t want to miss the boat and rushed towards his room. The news spread like wildfire in the colony. “Hare Rama! How can he study at this moment? Let him join his father in the protest,” said Vinod’s mother to Subbu. This incident was a bitter pill to swallow for Vinod. That night, Vinod ran away from his house and that incident never faded from his mind. Though he made a decision at the brink of despair and danger, he never regretted making a decision wrong. All he had was a torn book and a leaky-pen. Slowly, the sunlight flashed and Vinod opened his eyes. He became tired as he threw back his mind into his past. He opened the letter and was unable to read it by his blurred eyes. Growing old, he couldn’t gather things in his mind. He would be really lucky if someone presented him with a new pair of glasses on his birthday. He was sure Kayla won’t be able to do so. Vinod rode his bike to his house as Kayla would be worrying about his absence. He parked the bike aside and saw the door stood ajar. He ran into the house and saw a tall, young, pale-skinned bloke sitting on the sofa. His blood congealed into lumps. "Pardon me for getting in without your permission. I-I j-just came here t-to see you!” he said. "Never hesitate to come here, Ryan. This is just like your home. You have always helped me at difficult times.

When everyone showed me fears and tears, you made me to realize the power of dreams, ideas and of course, books and pens,” said Vinod. Vinod brought Ryan a cup of tea along with his favourite jelly beans. They walked around the garden and Ryan put around his arm around Vinod's shoulder and indeed, one hand was catching a wooden cane. "Do you still have the dream catcher I presented you last Christmas?” asked Ryan. Vinod gave a hearty guffaw. "Yeah, it’s over the attic. Do you want to see it?” said Vinod. They climbed the staircase and reached the dusty attic. "Bet you didn’t come here for ages! You should have recommended a protective mask for me,” said Ryan with a hard cough. "See who has come here, Kayla! You would be so glad to meet your pal,” clamoured Vinod. Meow! A cat was snarling over a worn-out sofa. "Kayla is a good cat and she’s growing old day by day. I’m much disappointed that the time has gifted you a silver, lucky hair for all the efforts you had done,” said Ryan sarcastically. "She has been with me for 21 years and I don’t know how long she’s going to be with me to lead a boring life. The best gift I can afford her is freedom,” moaned Vinod.

Ryan couldn’t bear the dust and finally, he decided to climb down the stairs. He saw an envelope lying next to a silver pendant. "May I know who has got a good heart to write a letter for you? Lovely pendant, I say,” admired Ryan. Vinod’s mind was now confused. He totally forgot about the letter he received. "Oh! You know what? My eyes are really poor to read this letter. Would you mind reading this letter?” he requested. "Well, give it here. I’ll read it for you,” said Ryan. He decided to hand it over to Ryan. Ryan wished Vinod to lend his listening ears but Vinod was squinting at the French window. "Hem hem, hear this,” commanded Ryan. "Read on, I’ll just die of curiosity…,” exasperated Vinod.

Ryan started to read the letter:

"Hope you are doing well. Yeah, who doesn’t know Vinod, the author of the award-winning book? It has been a decade since I bid goodbye with a bucket of tears. I still remember you selling chapatis across the streets. I am not good at cracking jokes, you know it pretty well. It had been a long time since you got the freedom to seek knowledge and understand the importance of books, pens, happiness, dreams, and especially life. I am happy to see your name heard at every corner I could see in the world. My world is small. I wasn’t allowed to see the world beyond the four corners of the house. I didn’t leave my hope. I learnt to read and write secretly in my room. And today, I am able to pen down a letter to you. I gained everything with struggle but I couldn’t gain a precious thing still now, I think that is the beautiful word I have ever heard, what is called love! Do you remember your childhood, Vinod? Everybody around you was with guns and cannons. You were so eager to find the root cause for the war. You travelled across the world and flew beyond the sky to find the solution.

Well, you could ask me a solution for ending up the war to seed peace in our society and to gift the children with pens and not pistols. If you questioned me that day, I would have told you within a sentence- "Don’t fly above the clouds, just dive deep in one’s heart. It should not be a conflict for resources or territories but for a better world, not the materialistic world but the world with humanity. The conflict was a result of misunderstanding, thoughtlessness and hopelessness. Finally, I need to ask you a question- "Did it hurt you to call your best friend?” Please pay a visit here. Come along with Ryan, I know he will be hanging out with you all the time. Take advice from my side- I can travel with you even from the sea trench to the tip of the lofty mountain as a friend. There comes the strong wind to hit your weakness, you must be able to face it and climb the problems yourself. Note: Please check out the pendant. I have made it for Kayla. Just gift her on behalf of me and I’m sure she will love it. Goodbye. Your love, Subbu.”

Ryan eyes were filled with tears. Vinod was petrified. Kayla just came shaking her tail with joy. Ryan was searching for something in his bag. "What’s the matter with you? What are you searching for?” asked Vinod furiously. "I’ve got something for you! Take it,” said Ryan. Vinod unwrapped the gift box. "Ah, I think your eyes are clear enough to see this thing,” said Ryan. It was a pair of spectacles. "This spectacles is not necessary for me to see this world in the way I dreamt- no greed, no pain, no depression and no oppression. If the world I wish to see can only be achieved by bespectacled people, then wearing spectacles is definitely a compulsion," Vinod said in a low voice but it was firm.

Ryan was stuck with Vinod's ideal vision and he was thrown into deep thought. Vinod was so happy that he wore the spectacles in a jiffy. "Congratulations! I think this gift will be helpful for your next book!” cried Ryan. "Thanks for everything, Ryan. We will meet Subbu by next week,” said Vinod. "It would be better if you ask Kayla regarding this,” Ryan muttered. They marched towards the park to find some peace and the day came to a perfect close. "Ah, I forgot the keys, Ryan! I missed it as usual…,” said Vinod with frustration. Ryan murmured to himself, "You have found all the treasure, including me, with many golden keys but you have only one to be found. Go on, don't joke, my boy!"