A Dice Game

The other day, I was at a park near a resident area. I sat on a bench and was looking at children playing. Some were swinging and some were crying their throats out coming down the slate. But my eyes got attracted towards a couple of children playing a board game on the grass. It looked like some business game. I remember till I was 15 I hated those board games. It was quite interesting to see those children playing with dice and clapping after every turn. My interest grew eventually and I thought to take a closer look. The mother of both the boys came near them and said, “this is not how’s it’s played. Do you want mumma to help you learn?” There I understood, both of them didn’t know the game. I realized I had no point in going and watching them play.

                The boys stood up and went near the swing, ran around the park and one of those little champs came tiredly and sat beside me. He looked at me as elder people look at the modern art paintings. I tried to avoid his look twice; but his face didn’t make a move. Being little elder I had to say something. Stupid me, I asked his name. He didn’t answer but he asked me my name.

                “Joy” I said.

                “Nice name.” He said.

Now I actually felt how it feels to be elder. He further asked, “Do you come here very often?”

Looking at my face he must have understood the negation. “You don’t look familiar”, he said. His talks were very strange. I don’t remember any kid of his age talking like that.

“Don’t you know how to play the business game?” I asked.

“I don’t care I just like watching the dice roll. Every time it rolls it gives certain number. It always makes you move forward when it’s your turn.” He said like a professor in my college. Even if he wouldn’t have understood the deepness in his sentence, it flashed in my brain.

Now when I look at my life, I understood there is nothing permanent. You either have to move ahead or everything stops right there.  Your age, your friends, your relationships, sorrows, happiness, everything is just temporary it may leave you after sometime. You enjoy it or mourn. I choose the dice to move on.