The Day
It was a fine summer day. The new sponge ball we had bought had created some excitement in us. With the dawn of the day we had had reached the fields, just as usual. The ground before our school was empty. After finishing with our daily routine, a few of us gathered to play with the ball. It was a fine summer day.
As it was the summer season our schools used to open in the morning those days. So by the time we finished with our excitement with the ball it was already time for the schools to open. Teachers had already got into the class. I knew I had to be in the class. So, for the last game, I threw the ball high up in the sky with as much strength as I had. The ball was up for about 15 seconds. It was very sunny that morning. I had kept looking straight upwards, eyes fixed at the ball. The ball was now coming downwards. It was good to see how high the ball had reached in the sky. I was determined to catch ball in my hands. As the ball came down something happened. It seems that I was enamoured by the height the ball had reached that day. Perhaps that was highest any ball thrown up by me had achieved so far till then in my life. Perhaps I was still measuring the height the ball had reached. Instead of coming into my hands it came down on my right eye. I had missed the catch! That was a real miss for sure.
The ball must have weighed more than 100 grams. The blow on my eye was real hard. When the ball reached my eye it was still wide open. So the blow was painful as it had touched the eyeballs as well. Both my hands went abruptly on my right eye. I fell down. Hands on eyes. Was thinking it was just a normal blow that should be over in a few minutes. Kept my eyes closed with hands on it. If I tried to open it up, I had to face the sunny morning which increased the pain that was unbearable to the bruised eye. So I kept it closed.
It must have been more than ten minutes before I thought of doing something else. I got up. With the other eye, I saw that the school was open and no one was moving on the verandah. This meant that the classes had started. I was one of students who would seldom miss a class in the school. I had not been home since I left early morning after I woke up the day. I was in knickers and sleeveless undershirts. This was not a proper dress for entering into school premises, entering a class was out of the mark. I could not go to home as I thought it would be too late. Besides, the first thing that I wanted was a place where the sunrays would be the least. The vast ground very sunny and it was giving me the pain in the eyes. Except for the school building on one side of the ground, there was no other building or place where I could get away from the sunrays. It was plain farms all around or mango orchids.
I was known as a good student. In fact I was the topper of the class and was also made monitor of the students. I thought of using this position of mine this time, and for the first time. I decided to enter my ninth grade class in the school.
