Lucky Day

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It had been a long time now since he was struggling, must have been at least 10 minutes.

He had always been a loser. An underperformer. Always abiding by the rules set by Mother. Never deviating from the set routes. All his peers knew all the best places. He didn’t. It was not that he didn’t have the courage. But aberration from Mother’s path was blasphemy for him. Go straight was his mantra. Go straight.

Not today. Today he had decided on this infraction and right from the first hint of dawn, he had been wandering. He knew the day was different. The day had been superb, and productive. The flowers were all beautiful. And it had been a dream run. He was feeling so lucky.

Maybe he pushed his luck too far. He went away farther than ever. Not until he reached that obscure place with the lilies, which was right there at the top of the list of proscribed places, did he stop, or rather was stopped.

He first attacked the lilies. As he moved towards them, he saw a sort of cave to his right. Inside, a bunch of daffodils caught his glimpse. Should he go there? Why not! It was his day. So he went there. The flowers were so fresh. He circled the bunch euphorically, disbelief in his eyes. He had no sense of direction.

When satiated, he decided to leave. But wait, he was in a cave right? Which way was the opening? Which way did he enter from? Fear crept through. Suddenly there was a huge gust which threw him far away. As he gained focus again, he looked towards the direction from which light was coming. And then he saw the lilies again. He rushed towards them, with all his might, already terrified, and suddenly there it was. Bam! He was stopped by some strange invisible wall. His head went tizzy. And what the hell was happening? Right there in front of him there were the lilies. But he just couldn’t move forward.

He had to get out. So he tried to improvise. He moved back and rammed into the strange obstacle again. Too strong. He backed up again, about three feet. In front of him there was a grid of openings. Behind him, everything was dark. He moved to one “opening”, this time cautiously. Again the same invisible barrier. Befuddled, he rammed into a few more. The entire grid looked the same. He felt as if dreaming. But he knew it was reality. He had heard stories, and now he was part of his nightmare.

The next few moments were spent lamenting and repenting. He could have stopped at the rose garden. He could have stopped when he felt the heat of the noon sun waning. He could have just been to the lilies. But when you feel lucky, the only thing that stops your flight is an accident. An accident which brings you back to earth, back to your senses. Most dream runs often end in crashes. Because restraint is the first thing you lose when you gain luck. He could have forgotten the daffodils, but no, it was his day!

Remorse was not the cure though. It never is. So he gathered his strength and moved back one more time. He looked at all the openings. He had examined only a few. He wished God for just one more ounce of good luck.

Suddenly, on the right a long distance away he saw a bigger opening. Should he go there? Should he try that way? It was too far away. Again, he wanted to go far away.

He remembered all that he had been told by Mother. "Never lose sight of your goals. Accomplishments don’t come in gift wraps. You have to earn them. You will make mistakes. But you yourself will have to get out of that. There will always be obstacles. At first all will seem as if impossible to cross, but impossible is nothing. Sooner or later, it will be defeated. And yes there will always be shortcuts, paths that will seem to end your misery in a blink. But never fall for them. When you have your goals at your crosshair, proceed towards them no matter what. Go straight boy, go straight".

He looked at the lilies again, and knew what he had to do. He had to keep trying. That big opening sure seemed attractive. Maybe it will take him to his freedom. But he knew that was just another specious detour to more danger. He had already pushed his luck far enough. No more. He will break this wall for whatever it takes. Maybe he will find his ounce of luck now.

He kept ramming into the glass for the next one hour. Was it his penance?

A bright white light flooded the room.

SQQQQUUUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!

"Hey mom, I killed a bee! It was stuck at the window for so long now! It won’t let me sleep. I even tried the fan. Wonder why they don’t just fly out through the door."

“They don’t see the door honey. They are just too small.”

“Son, will you please throw that thing into the garden for me?”

“Sure mom.”

Before closing his eyes for the final time, he found himself lying at the foot of the lily.