The Mirror

Akhil   once again returned home after an unsuccessful day at school. He was tired and refused to have his meal and preferred to go to bed early. He hurriedly changed his clothes, switched off the lights and went to bed. His mind was still foggy. The unpleasant happening in the day were still clouding his mind. Through the night he agitatedly tossed and turned in bed but the awaited sleep didn't come early.
He felt a chilled draft of wind brushing against his body. His body shuddered with cold and with a jolt he jumped out of his bed. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness around him he looked around   and he discovered it was not his room and the even the bed was not his. The walls around him had stretched till the end of the horizon and the ceiling was so high up in the sky that it seemed like a small canopy to him. Suddenly he felt terribly frightened and vulnerable. The only thing reminiscent of his room was a large mirror which his grandfather had presented him. He looked at it. He could not believe his eyes. The image staring at him was not his.   The image was of an old man with a long white flowing beard. The face was shrivelled yet the eyes shone smilingly and affectionately at him. By now the fear had totally overtaken Akhil and he stood there shivering.   The old man smiled and spoke in a sweet and a fatherly voice   “ Are u afraid of me son. Don’t be afraid of me” he said.   Akhil unable to reply with fear choking his voice as the old man continued “ Don’t fear me nor fear anything else. Fear kills the courage to face the reality. Only the brave are the winners.   My child, do not be overwhelmed by failures. Instead take them as a challenge.   It’s great to set goals but it is more important to work out ways to achieve them. Dreams can only be achieved when u have the zeal and passion to achieve them. You can achieve all your dreams as long as you keep the fire in your belly burning.   I promise you today that you cannot change your past but my child you can...