Paucity

 

“Everything happens to other people”

“What?”

“Things happen to other people, nothing happens to people like us”

“What’s people like us?”

“I don’t know”

Nihal was not sure he knew what he was saying. But he was sure things only happened to other people.

“We don’t do anything.”

“We go to school”

“Everyone goes to school”

He could not get his point across. An astronaut had visited his school last month. He was North American. He talked about how as a child, he would gaze at the marvellous night sky, and how he spent his whole life to be one of the few people who would ever leave the earth.

“That would never happen to people like us.”

“Maybe not.”

Nihal also wanted to be an astronaut. His parents also had big dreams for him. They thought he might become a civil servant.

“Even their dreams know things don’t happen to people like us”

“Oh”

Nihal thought of the time he wanted to be a politician.

“Do you know a politician?”

“No”

“Why not?”

“Oh”

Maybe a scientist. How wonderful it would be to be a scientist. Even ISRO has scientists.

“I am going to be a writer, they don’t have to know my name”

“Does that happen to people like us?”

“I can’t say”

The time felt wrong for any expression of unfulfillment. None of this was new information.

“Things are only meant for some people”

“What people?”

“Not us”

“How do you know?”

He did not want to be the same. He also did not want to call attention to himself. There was nothing worse than being seen.

“I wish there was another life”

“You know there isn’t”

“It’s just that this time I’ve got the one where things don’t happen”

He stopped writing and put his notebook on the bottom drawer. No one would ever read it. What’s another thing that does not happen?