FEAR IS THE KEY

From a very young age, as a child, Mazher used to spend his summer vacation with his cousin brother who worked in the city. As soon as his vacation commenced, his cousin would come to pick him up from his home town where he lived with his parents. Mazher loved the train journey as his cousin ensured that he enjoyed every moment of his vacation. It had become an annual ritual for them to spend the summer holidays together.

That particular year was special for Mazher as he had a tough competition with a new girl who had joined his class. Throughout the year both vied with each other for grabbing the First position with their marks; in some months, Mazher procured the First Rank and in some months the new colleague of his bet him to it. Both awaited the announcement of the results for the Final Exams with bated breath. In the past two months, she had stood first and therefore the suspense was absolutely intense, not only for both of them but also for the Teachers themselves as the result would be known only to the Class Teacher and not others who taught different subjects. Mazher was every teacher’s favourite including the Head Mistress and she enjoyed building up the the suspense while she announced each name and the corresponding rank of the student. She took an extraordinary pause when she arrived at the announcement for the Second Rank, took a deep breath and declared the girl student’s name! Mazher’s joy knew no bounds as he saw the Head Mistress picking up his scorecard next, to announce the first position.

Therefore that year’s vacation was to be very special for Mazher and he looked forward to it eagerly.

On the day, Mazher and his cousin were scheduled to travel, Mazher found that his cousin was quite silent all the way to the railway station. When they were seated in their compartment, Mazher was more shocked than surprised when his cousin took out one ticket from his pocket and put it in Mazher’s pocket. It had never happened before! Then his cousin spoke to Mazher in a very consoling voice, saying that he had a task to be completed in their home town which would take one more day and therefore he wouldn’t be accompanying Mazher. He went on to assure that his younger brother would receive Mazher at the destination and take him home. He then pulled out a small envelope from his pocket and gave it to Mazher, saying, “If, at any time, you feel frightened, you must open this envelope and read the magic words written in the letter inside. Only, if you are frightened, otherwise there would be no need; I know you are a very brave boy.” Mazher was too dumbstruck to say anything and he didn’t want to let the tears welling up in his eyes to drop out before all the other passengers, so he just nodded putting up a brave face. With that, they both bid farewell to each other and Mazher’s cousin got down from the train and moved away.

As the train moved, more people came to occupy their seats around Mazher. Some looked at him in a friendly manner, almost empathically that he was travelling alone at such a young age. But some appeared to Mazher like the villains he used to see in his comic books, fighting with his favourite hero Phantom, The Ghost Who Walks.

To overcome his anxiety, Mazher opened one of the comics he perennially carried with him and tried to focus on the story but to no avail. His eyes kept darting around the coach and every time he looked at a new face, it looked scarier than the earlier one that left. He was tempted to pull out the letter given by his cousin and read the magic words inside, but he resisted the temptation, thinking to himself that he would do that only if the situation worsened as the magic would probably work only once.

Adding to his agony, a brawl broke out between two passengers and that made matters even worse for Mazher. His fright went up another notch and he quickly made his way to the toilet at the front of the coach. Once inside, he lost control over his tears which started flowing down his cheeks. He took out the envelope from his pocket with his trembling hands and opened the folded letter. He couldn’t believe his eyes as what was written in there. The letter read:

“Dear Mazher, I am at the back of this coach and we are travelling together! I am proud of you for not opening the letter immediately after I left you at your seat. Come over, to the back of the coach, my brave brother!”

Mazher learned a very valuable lesson that day; he realised that Fear is the Key that unlocks the true potential in you to muster Courage. Until you allow Fear to dominate your mind, you wouldn't allow Courage to surface, you wouldn’t be able to think straight, nor would you be able to see beyond the darkness that surrounds you. You need to use your Self-confidence and Faith in yourself like two stones which you strike together to light the lamp inside you to illuminate the whole surroundings and disperse the shadows of doubt and dilemma that haunt you.

Bottomline, FEAR is a frame of mind that can go away as fast as it comes, provided you know it is just like any other feeling. You smile and you feel good, you brood and you feel sad, you fear and you die before you are dead! So, just look at Fear in the eyes and say,

"Hey! Get the hell out of my way!"

~ Mazher H. Syed

September 29, 2024.