The Research Paper

He woke up the early morning that day, he was in a hurry that he too didn’t realize, he was in a confusion which was getting him into a world full of thoughts, bad and good but only his heart knew which one dominated more than the other.

Is it over? His heart questioned him, whereas his mind was busy arranging those papers in an order, little did he realize that the strenuous efforts that his coffee was doing to keep him present-minded was actually not working as he was arranging his divorce papers, not his research papers which he had to give seminar on the same day. 

He heard a familiar voice-“Sahab, car lagadi hai!”(Sir, the car is ready)

This was the voice of the same driver who served his family for a decade, and he knew him more than any other person. He quickly grabbed his satchel with few psychology books and research papers in a folder, ran downstairs to find his driver cleaning the windshield, he said gently “Pehle court chalo” (Let’s go to court first).

During his journey, the driver was adjusting the rear-view mirror in order to see why a person who used to speak more than 50 words per minute was so silent today, Maybe he was busy scrolling through the gallery. As the driver was about to take the last turn to reach their destination, he asked him to stop near a tea stall. That day driver knew that he was a little upset as whenever he was, he used to have tea with a piece of jalebi which would crave his hunger for sweet. Gently, driver whom he used to call “bhai” (brother), kept his hand on his shoulder and consoled him, for a person who held double degree in psychology and who was way too intelligent to predict a person’s behavior failed this time, he wasn’t able to read the mind of his very own wife!!

That day he felt so helpless, so tired, that he laid his head on the shoulder of the driver and cried his heart loud. The driver that day explained to him that life wasn’t all about not letting people go, but it was about the hard work one does to keep people in their life who play a major role in their life. 

That day he signed on two papers, the first one which read “Divorce Petition” whereas the other read “Approved for further research”, The only difference was in one subject he failed but on the same subject he was given the opportunity to research!

That day he learned that experience taught him a lot more than the books did!!

A new story was ready to be written on a blank paper(though an erased one still left its marks).