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Robert sighed. He felt stressed out. It was his first experience out of his cozy home. Here he was, miles away from home, in a hostel bed. And that was not all! He sobbed uncontrollably.
“How happy I felt when I got admission”, he mused, “That too in this top medical school of the country. Now I feel so low. All because of this ‘initiation” the senior boys are so bent upon doing to us.” Tears rolled freely from his eyes as his chest heaved again with sobs.
His sobs woke up Job, his roommate. “Why are you crying so late in the night Robert? Just hold on for a day or two. All this will be over soon.” He said.
“Oh its OK for you Job. Your fagmasters are nice. But That Williams, my fagmaster is a creep, the worst bully of the school. He is making my life miserable.” Robert complained.
Job got up from his bed and walked over to Robert. He gently wiped Roberts tears away and hugged him. “What I hear from the seniors is that all this will be soon over. Be patient Robert. Just hold on a little longer. All is not lost. After all, we have achieved admission into this great medical school. Remember Robert, we are here because our God wanted us to be here. It is His mercy that we have been selected from amongst the thousands who tried. Cheer up.”
“But I feel so low Job. I feel like giving up. In fact if you hadn’t got up now, I don’t know what I would have done.” Blurted out Robert.
Job replied, “There is a verse in the Bible just right for us now….” He thumbed through his Bible and said, “Ah… here it is listen, ‘Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both the soul and body in hell’ (Matt 10:28). Yes, my friend the worst that these bullies can do to us is to kill our bodies. But our Heavenly Father looks after our bodies and souls.”
Sighing deeply, Robert replied, “ Thanks buddy for the timely counsel. I feel refreshed in my heart now.”
They were about to sink back to sleep when a huge commotion arose.
They heard loud voices. “Hey guys get up. We have come to take you for the ‘Moonlight Sonata’. Up all of you. No one should miss this!
All of them were blindfolded and led away from their rooms. William, leading all of them hustled Robert along. “Say your prayers sonny. All is over now for you. Hand over your things to me. I’ll make sure your Mum and Dad get to see them. Your life is not worth living anyway.”
Robert was petrified with terror. “Now get on to this step and jump. You will crash into a deep chasm. Pray hard, take a deep breath and jump. Yes Now…”
He jumped. Only to discover that he had just stepped off a bench of sorts. Before he could even think or blink, William had him in firm grip and tool hold of his hands. His friend took hold of his legs and they swung him to and fro, a couple of times. And swoosh… they threw him into the garden pool swirling with murky green water!
But in that water stood some more bullies who carefully helped Robert up. Once this so called baptism was over it was pure camaraderie. The boys were sent have a clean shower and asked to join in the celebrations.
The darkness was beginning to be invaded by the soft glow of dawn. The campfire was lit and music began as the boys, both seniors and juniors began to sway and dance.
“You are all now our blood brothers, our friends. Never be afraid of us,” shouted William above the din. All of them broke out into a loud cheer as the bullies and bullied became one.
The loudest cheer came from Robert, who managed to whisper to Job, “Isn’t our God a great God?”
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Dear reader, are you now going through tough times? Take cheer. Do not fret or worry. Joy cometh in the morning!
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© 2004: Dr.M A David S Kumar
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