RAMBLINGS OF THE MIND
THREE HOURS AGO
The classroom suddenly became alive as students excitedly gathered their books, bags and belongings. Amidst the pandemonium, the teacher could see boys and girls scampering to the door, and to the school gymnasium to support their team for the Inter-Department Basketball Finals.
Ring ring ring
At the second bell, everybody had changed to their team colours, as fast as only children could dress up. Boys and girls, shouting their slogans supporting the teams. Cheerleaders sauntered around the court with their skirts which were long enough not to be called a belt, of course, to the delight of the boys.
Ring ring ting
At the final bell, the classrooms were empty. Or almost. Everybody had gone to the gymn, except for Hugh, who was still undecided whether he would watch the game or just go home. He adjusted his thick eyeglasses, which were precariously settled almost at the tip of his nose. These thick lenses covered his huge eyes, but it didn’t prevent the bullies to pick on it and called him Huge. He had never been interested in basketball, and being the smallest boy in the class didn’t help at all. They even started calling him, Little Huge.
So Little Huge picked up his bag and decided to do something different this time. Unbeknownst to him, it could be one of the best, if not the best decisions he had ever made in his otherwise boring life.
The cheering and jeering from the gymn faded as he walked further and further from the school grounds. With every little step, little Hugh felt more and more relieved, almost like he was free, free from all the bullies in the school. The world just seemed bigger and bigger, and he felt he belonged to the world. In this fleeting moment of solitude, he walked, or more like sauntered.
He was lost in the world, almost missing the turn toward western entrance of the park, which he has just visited three days ago when he was brought by his mom on the weekend.
The park looked the same, with the tall trees, beautiful flowers, benches and well maintained grounds. The park was quiet, except for a few people doing their own thing. A few women were walking their dogs, which seemed to pause every now and then, as they walk through the grass. Others were sweating after an hour of taeboo exercises, their music still playing from the ipod attached to a player with two small speakers. Little Huge was glad he came to the park. He had at least a couple of hours to spare.
Then his visit to the park seemed to become more interesting. He felt some kind of excitement he could not understand. But it all started when he saw the two butterflies, the most beautiful butterflies he had ever seen in his entire life. Its wings had colours he never thought existed. And he was so captivated, that he didn’t realize there were even more butterflies all around him. Until he noticed that they seem to be in some kind of a ceremony or ritual. He could see a pattern in their formation, a solemnity of their movements, even the fluttering of their wings were almost sublime.