Fragile heart

I was standing on the side of the road, waiting for an auto to arrive so that I could go to college. I was in a hurry – if I didn't reach the Bazaar soon, my teacher would leave, and I wouldn't get my attendance. My mind were racing with a million things – the very attendance, the millions of projects I had to submit in the following week, my admissions, the future, etc, etc.

Suddenly, a loud, cracking noise snapped me out of my thoughts. I looked up alarmed, and saw a terrifying collision between two bikes. One of the men struggled his way out from under his bike, and stood up. But the other man, he was lying face down on the ground, unmoving. Panic seized me. Was he dead? My legs turned to lead, and I couldn't move.

Then there was a flurry of movement. People from across the street came this side to help the man up, and drag him to the pavement. An elderly couple who were waiting for an auto ran to them and gave them their water. Finally, I too dragged myself to the spot, and watched in concern. With the care and concern from others, the man soon revived consciousness, and I let out a sigh of relief. Knowing that he was okay, I finally caught an auto and told the driver to take me to college.

The fragility of human life struck me really hard that day. We all go around thinking we have an endless existence, as if we can do everything whenever we want, but all of that is untrue. Our time on earth is limited. We are mere visitors here. We don't own this place, not like we would like to. And that thought scares me. No, not the ownership part. The part where everything is so temporary and delicate. We never know when our life will be snatched away from us. It could be today, tomorrow or maybe a hundred years later. But it will eventually happen. Can we ever be prepared though? I mean, everyone fears death. No matter how hard we try to conquer it, we are going to fail. All we do is elongate the eventual.

Something else that struck me that day was how beautiful and wonderful the human nature is. While we may all be worried about our own lives, the minute we see someone else in danger, we rush to their sides, regardless of who they are. Despite the grave nature of the situation, what I witnessed was deeply touching. We come alone, we go alone. Yes. But that is only in technicality. No matter what the circumstance is, we can always look to someone for help. It's not that far away.

Despite how truly horrifying it was, it gave me hope. It also gave me the push to make the most of my life today, because tomorrow might never come.