The Lost Superman

Raju’s lips quivered. A teardrop threatened to overflow from his eyes filled to the brim with water. He clutched his red and blue Superman printed T shirt with one hand and gripped his father’s hand with so much force that his tiny fingernails dug into Sharmaji’s palm and made him wince. 

“What happened Raju?” Sharmaji realized that something was troubling his 5 year old son.

Raju’s eyes darted around to check if anyone was watching. An outburst at a public place would be embarrassing. People might mistake him for a tantrum kid rather than a fan of Superman. Both father and son were waiting outside a movie theater with a bag of popcorn in hand to watch the new Superman movie. 

Raju loved superheroes and he dreamt to be one when he grew up. The idea of saving the  world and helping people in need fascinated him. Superman was his favorite. So when the new Superman movie was released, Raju’s happiness knew no bounds. Sharmaji brought Raju for the movie on a weekend. Raju was so excited in anticipation to see his most awaited movie, that they had reached early and were waiting for the previous show to end. But something changed in the meantime. Raju quickly wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt lest anybody caught him crying. 

“Nothing Daddy…just…”, His voice was shaky.

“What is it son?” Sharmaji bent down on his knees and wiped his tear-laden face with a tissue.

“It must be in so much pain Daddy…” Raju swallowed a lump in his throat. A new set of tears welled up in his eyes again. He bit his lips to control it.

“Who?”

Raju pointed towards the busy street outside the theater. 

While coming to the theater both of them had seen a stray dog who lay whimpering on the side of the road. Blood dripped from its left hind leg. It lay motionless with hollow eyes as if he had given up any hope of survival, only its chest heaved up and down rhythmically to show signs of life. The street was crowded with people but nobody had the time or interest to pay any heed to it.

“He got hit on the leg so badly. I’m unable to forget it. Can we do something Daddy?”

Sharmaji checked the time on his watch.

“Hmm… We can take him to the veterinarian… But then you will miss the movie…” He said matter of factly.

Raju went silent for a minute. His gaze moved from the street to the poster of Superman and back to the street again. Sharmaji waited patiently to know the decision of his 5 year old.

“Let’s go to the veterinarian’s clinic Daddy. We can’t just leave the dog suffering here. Who will help it if we don’t? I will watch Superman some other time…” Raju said with determination in his voice. 

“Raju, today your compassion has made you a Superman! I am so proud of you, my son!”

Raju’s face lit up with a smile and his Daddy hugged him. Sharmaji was sure that one day Raju would grow up to be a nice human being.

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Sharmaji, now a retired person, sat on the table and watched Raju while having breakfast. 

Raju was gearing up for an important meeting with a lucrative client. He had dressed up  impeccably in his branded suit and was constantly attending calls to ensure that everything ran smooth. Sharmaji urged him to eat breakfast but it all fell to deaf ears. Raju drank only a cup of coffee all the while talking on the phone. He took his laptop bag and started to leave the house.

“Ouch!”

Blood came gushing out from Sharmaji’s finger as he slit it by mistake in an attempt to cut an apple. He clenched his teeth and the knife fell from his hands making a ‘clink’ sound as it touched the marble floor.

Raju stopped on his track and turned to look at him with crinkled eyebrows and made a disapproving grunt.

“Oh God… What did you do? Who asked you to cut an apple?”

He looked at his watch to check the time. He was getting late for his meeting.

“Can you manage it Dad?”

Raju didn’t wait for an answer. He resumed talking on the phone and left the house. 

Sharmaji held the wound tightly with his other hand and tried to stop the blood flow. But the cut was deep. He watched from the window as Raju boarded his car and drove away nonchalantly. As the blood dripped down his finger to the elbow, he stood there and thought about what hurt him more right now? 

The throbbing pain in his finger or the fact that somewhere down the line he had lost his Superman…

He wondered what went wrong? What transformed the once compassionate little Raju to a man devoid of emotions. God creates perfect children. They are always full of empathy for all beings. But in the rat race to achieve more in this materialistic world, this perfection gets tarnished. Who is responsible for that?

A matter to ponder…

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Photo by Gabriel Porras on Unsplash