A few staggering steps, a couple of blinking eyes and Orion’s ivory laden hands bludgeoning your face. The world around you shimmers into a black hole and the last thing you see is speck of red trying to fend off a rush of blue amidst applauses and jeers that don’t really help the numbness you feel. You wait in complete darkness as if everything around you has just frozen in time. The blinding ray of light in between popping heads and then the realisation hits you.

The Euphoria of silverware around your neck and you standing tall in your once crimson red attire now turned into a deeper shades reduces to a stretch of canvas where it all started boxing for you was not about passion on your way to London as a fifth grader to be a part of the youth camp of your favourite football club when Rome anonymous uncle had drilled the idea of boxing into your dad’s head and your London dreams transformed into a three hour drive stacked away at the rare wagon at a little more than four feet tall you never really had a chance. The very idea of letting your dad down started eating into you like a parasite.

That was one thing that your dad had taught you, never give up and you embodied it. The stern determination and those gruelling hours of practice made you grow both in size and in stature. You were no longer the fish being bulled around the bigger guys. The thought you had made big, big enough for your dad to be proud about you.

But destiny had the knack of raising the bar every time. The thought you had scaled it. You found your name as one of the probable’s for the London commonwealth games. The circle of life starts again and you somehow manage to go a notch further.

The glory days went on when you suddenly realize that the arena that was backed to the brim an hour ago was found wanting for traces of human life. The last of the medical staff helps you catch as cap and make the three hours drive back home. It had all come down to final showdown until the winner to take it all. A final showdown where so much was expected of you there you were so close, yet so far away. You had success right in your palms but elusive snitch made it out.

The cab screeched down the drive way. There were no surprises waiting for you. There was a grey cat walking a green fence under a grey shy. Faces with super imposed smiles welcome you. Somewhere in the crowd pushed around was a face gleaming with pride. Your dad embraces you and you feel your bones crunched.