THE EARTHWORM (A short story by Ozwald Menezes) I huffed and puffed to the point where the school bus

normally picks my son to go to his school. I was just in time. The school bus had not arrived and I saw my son, Xavier, waiting at the pick-up point peering minutely at something on the ground, oblivious to his father panting down the lane. Need to get myself in shape, I reminded myself. Not something I look forward to, though. Who would want to go on a strict diet and go for early morning jogs? I brushed aside those thoughts for the moment. What are you looking at? I asked Xavier. Xavier looked up and gave me a scornful look. Why do you always forget things? Is this my job or yours? I protested as I handed him his school identity card, which he had forgotten at home, and for which I had to rush back halfway, to get it for him. Dad, how can I remember everything? Getting up in the morning is bad enough. I cant do much more than that! Xavier sincerely believed that, he always did a favour on his parents by getting up in the morning to go to school. Forget it, I shrugged, No point in getting into an argument with you early in the morning Xavier made no effort to rebuke me, and again turned his attention to something wiggling on the ground. It appeared to be an earthworm, which had slithered out of a tiny puddle, at the edge of the road and was struggling to move. Is that an earthworm? Xavier looked up at me, enquiringly. So it seems I cast a sideways glance, It looks like one, alright. Whats so interesting about it? I think it is trying to cross the lane. Xavier conjectured, Do you think it will reach the other end? As if I care..! I snorted, We have better things to do. Try to remember those formulas you practiced yesterday. You need to focus on that. Xavier ignored my advice, What do you think are its chances? It will get squashed any moment! I muttered disinterestedly, Where in the hell is your school bus? Late as usual...I guess. It only seems to come on time on those days when we are late, and then we have to rush to school on our own. Dad, are earthworms blind? Xavier was still busy, observing the earthworm, which had wriggled out of the muddy puddle, and was crawling out on to the lane.

Maybe I dont know I peered impatiently across the corner of the lane. The school bus was nowhere in sight. Look, can we drop this earthworm business? You have other things to focus on and so have I Do a Google check, Dad? Xavier could be highly persistent at times and I rolled my eyes in exasperation, Forget it, I am not... Dad, please... I want to know whether that earthworm will cross the road. I believe it will, but only if it can see Knowing it was pointless to dissuade Xavier, I reluctantly fished out my smartphone and typed in a question, Are earthworms blind? and read out the relevant parts to Xavier. Yeah, earthworms have no eyes, but they can sense light and darkness. Hey...theres also this interesting bit. They can live upto eight years, but normally live for about 2 years in any garden. Well, I didnt know that, for sure. Now, I am pretty sure he will cross the road, even if he cannot see Xavier declared. I shook my head, I wouldnt bet on that. This is a busy road, with so many vehicles, passing by. No, not possible, it will get crushed by one of those vehicles. Or it will get trampled upon by someone walking on the pavement. Or more likely, a sparrow will just spot it and make a meal out of it. It doesnt stand a chance. OK, Dad, lets make a deal. You buy me a new novel, if it crosses the road. If it doesnt, I will miss my weekly Spiderman show on Sunday. How about that? You are nuts! And even, assuming I accept your bet, which one of us is going to keep a track of that worm, whether he crosses the road or not? You..? You will miss school? - Or me? You think, I am going to stand here like an idiot watching an earthworm cross the road and make an ass of myself. Dont even think about it!! Come on, Dad, I need to find out whether the earthworm will cross the lane. Dont you always tell me persistence pays? It will be a good lesson for me. It will teach me to always be persistent, till I succeed. God knows, you are persistent to a fault! I was pretty exasperated by now. I knew Xavier would not give up, till he had his way, and the school bus was nowhere in sight. OK. Lets just check it out for a while, till your bus shows up. Then you are off to school. Clear? Alright, Dad, Xavier grinned triumphantly.But you stay back and make sure, whether it does cross the lane, and let me know in the afternoon, I opened my mouth to protest, but gave up. I knew it was no use. Xavier was used to having his way with me, and he knew that too. I just scowled at him, not knowing what to say. Just then the school bus appeared around the corner, and screeched to a halt, right near where the earthworm was valiantly struggling to cross the lane.

Thats the end of it!I shouted loudly, much to the chagrin of the school attendant who looked at me with bewilderment and then underneath the front wheel of the bus. I quickly gained my composure, and looked towards Xavier who had crouched down instantly, and was trying to locate the earthworm under the wheel, a dismayed look on his face. Xavier! I shouted in alarm, as Xavier stuck his head too near the front wheel, in his zeal to locate the earthworm, What are you doing for Gods sake!! I pulled him back, rather roughly, but he yelled, happily. Dad, it is still alive!! Xavier pointed his finger and I gazed in the direction, he pointed out, Sure enough, the earthworm was still very much there, hale and hearty. The front wheel had just missed him by a whisker, and he was already on his way across the lane, moving at a tardy pace. I will be damned! I muttered, under my breath, as the bus attendant looked at me first, with perplexity and then peered underneath the bus wheel. What happened, Sir? What is down there? Nothing...Nothing! I mumbled sheepishly and nudged Xavier towards the bus door. Get in Xavier, and stop thinking about the earthworm. Bye Dad! Xavier waved out to me from the bus window, Just stay back and let me know in the afternoon. But, I am sure, I am going to win the bet. It will successfully cross the lane. Bye!! No... I began to shake my head, but Xavier just winked at me, and I put my hands up in despair. This was too much. Nothing doing, I decided. I am not doing any such silly thing, keeping track of a god forsaken earthworm who was trying to cross the lane, of all things. Sheer nonsense!!! I will have nothing of it. I am going home. Muttering under my breath, I began walking purposefully towards home. But, my steps faltered after a few paces, and I slowed down. Oh, damn!! I could visualize Xavier in the afternoon, standing on the door, asking me, about the fate of the earthworm, and I had to accept that, I couldnt face him, if I just walked away now. Nor could I lie to him. Half heartedly, I turned around; wishing fervently that the earthworm would meet an early end, thereby, putting an end to my woes. When I reached the point where the earthworm had embarked on a suicidal mission of crossing the lane, on a busy morning, it was with sheer astonishment, that I saw the tiny chap still valiantly moving across the road, unscathed and unharmed, and still in one piece.

It was a narrow lane, and it would have taken the earthworm around five minutes or so to cross it, but every now and then a car or a bike passed by, in either direction and it was highly unlikely that the earthworm would not get crushed under one of those wheels. But by some sheer piece of unbelievable luck, the doughty fellow was able to cross, slowly, but surely, most of the way, as if he was blessed with not one, but a hundred lives. I gaped and stared at the earthworm, as if spell bound. I must have been a rather odd spectacle, because the people walking by, were looking at me, rather oddly, as if I had lost it completely. But for that instant, I was oblivious to everything around me. All my attention was focused on the tiny insignificant earthworm, making a herculean attempt to cross the lane, as if he had taken a vow to finish the task, no matter what and that providence itself was working overtime to ensure that he achieved that feat. After what seemed an eternity, and when I had nearly chewed my nails of my fingers, the earthworm was within reach of the other side of the lane. I had never felt as exultant before- It was as if I was climbing Mount Everest or maybe like toiling across the Sahara desert. So much for the sheer tenacity of the tiny earthworm, who had taken upon itself the challenge to cross the lane? What motivated him to take up such a monstrous task? Or did it know where it was going or why it was going in the first place. Or did he know what mortal dangers awaited him, as he moved further ahead, millimeter by millimeter. It must have been blissfully unaware of the enormity of his mission, or it would not have embarked upon such a foolhardy venture A passerby accidently nudged me out of my stupor, and I could barely notice the earthworm, as It progressed to within a couple of inches of the other side of the lane, and then, I was certain that nothing could stop it now-maybe, the gods themselves had cast a protective spell around it, guarding it from all possible dangers. I imagined breaking the news to Xavier and his sheer joy on winning the bet. That was how Xavier was; He hated losing and he had this unshakeable belief that persistence, if not patience always pays. And the earthworm with his successful journey across the lane had been a testimony to that unshakeable belief. I walked across the road, to give the earthworm a warm reception on the successful completion of his marathon journey, and spotted him wiggling on to the pavement on the other side. I reached before him, just as he pushed himself on to the edge of the pavement. As I turned around to look down at him, a small boy rushed along, throwing me off balance. I stumbled and almost fell on to the road, before recovering in time to regain my posture. Idiot! I hissed, but the boy had already zoomed out of earshot. Anyway, I turned around to meet the victorious earthworm, but, strangely, he was nowhere to be seen. Where on earth, did he vanish? I thought to myself. He was just there a second ago, and now had mysteriously disappeared.

Then, to my horror, comprehension dawned on me. I felt sick, not wanting to accept the fact of the sheer disaster, which had just occurred. In a bid to regain my balance, I had ended up stepping on the earthworm and brought his victorious conquest to an abrupt end. I hesitantly inspected the sole of my left sandal, and sure enough, there were the squashed remains of the earthworm, with whom I had spent the last ten odd minutes, watching and savoring every moment of his death defying lane crossing spectacle. At that moment, I felt crushed and defeated myself, not coming to terms with the fact that I had stopped a winner in his tracks. A brave adventurous earthworm who had dared to challenge his destiny and emerged victorious only to receive a humiliating death by the very foot of the sole spectator, who been around to watch that unique feat, that no earthworm probably had ever achieved and maybe no human being had ever witnessed, before. In an absurd way, it had been a special moment for both of us. I despaired for a few seconds, then slowly trudged back home. And on the way, probably for the first time, I walked, as if on a path of smoldering embers, for fear of crushing other earthworms, and then I was amazed to see, something that I had never noticed before. There were scores of other worms, crushed and mutilated under the plodding steps of pedestrians, who had hitherto been walking on the pavement. It had rained the previous night and the earthworms had been washed out from the muddy tracks ,adjoining the lane. Though it lessened my guilt to some extent, I still couldnt absolve myself of the enormous crime of unwittingly, killing a plucky fellow who had dared to probably dream of venturing into the unknown. Do all earthworms, I thought to myself, normally embark upon such missions, or was it one of those audacious few, who participated in death-defying feats in search of that spilt second moment of glory and self-satisfaction. I wouldnt ever know, even if I wanted to, for I had no means of conversing with an earthworm. I spent the rest of the afternoon, wracked by guilt of having killed a valiant hero. I tried to convince myself, the earthworm would anyway have met an untimely end, under the feet of some other person, if not me. But I simply to could not acquit myself, having read that earthworms had a lifespan of eight years. Maybe, he was already eight years old and was probably going on a pilgrimage or something like that. No matter, I was having a horrible day, wracked by guilt pangs, and as the clock struck one, in the afternoon, I felt increasingly panicky. Xavier would be home anytime, and I did not know how to face him. I knew with certainty what his first question was going to be, and I had no answers. How will I break the news to him? How would he react? Would he hate me for what I had done? I was a nervous wreck... The door bell rang at 01:40 pm sharp, in the afternoon. I plodded across to the door and opened it with butter fingers. Dad, did I win the bet? Xavier bellowed, as he charged in, flinging his school bag onto the sofa. I smiled sheepishly, fumbling for words.

Yes... I won...YUPEEE!! He did not wait for an answer, I knew the earthworm would cross the lane. You, know persistence pays. It always does. Now, I will get my book, right? Yes. I said, avoiding his gaze. The earthworm did cross the road. After all it was the truth. Or atleast the half truth.

The End