"Unlimited Powers"

“You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.” 

― John Bunyan

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" 1 "

He woke up to the sweet voice of his mother. It was his first day to school. He was very much looking forward to it. His mother told the night earlier while telling him his usual bedtime stories that at school they will tell a lot of stories. He was a dreamer. He has always been. He was inquisitive also. His mother had a difficult time to answer all his questions, which she herself had no clue about. He was only five and no one could complain about his inquisitiveness or the curiosity. Kids are fun like that, her mother thought and always answered the innumerable questions. She always found it cute and proud that he was asking so many questions. She had a plan for him, though she would be by his side each step he would take, his decisions, his dreams, but till he starts making the choices for himself, she had a dream to make something out of him which would make him happy and her the proudest mom on the planet. And that day was his day out of home. He resented leaving home, his mom and venture outside the confines of his sweet comfy home. But her mother insisted. And so he went with a few tears in his eyes. This was hard for his mom to leave him for half a day at school as it was hard for him to stay surrounded by strangers. As time passed, he settles in meeting the new people, his inquisitiveness kicked in and he was all over asking and questioning what his teacher had to say. By the end of day he was happy for he did his part in being himself, a curious kid. The happiness just multiplied when he say his mom waiting by the car. He recited all the stories and every single thing that happened at school. He was excited for another day to go school and start learning. The moments turned into hours and it was evening, his play time after that very long nap that he just had. His mother made his favorite snack and was feeding him, while he was dancing to the songs that played on the TV. And suddenly he stopped dancing. He stood still and couldn't feel anything as his mother saw him falling in his place. He was unconscious. His mother panicked and was shaking seeing his son lying unconsciously in her lap. She didn't know what to do. She immediately picked him up and rushed to the hospital and on the way she called her husband letting him know what had happened. The kid's father assured her that he will in the hospital right away. After a while, he was conscious and his mother was relieved to see him speak again, question again! After a preliminary tests, the doctor told that he has cancer which was in the early stages. She didn't believe it. She refused to believe it. Her husband arrived at the hospital and was totally shaken up when he received the news. They were in denial, but the doctors assured that they will do everything in their capability to cure him since it is in its early stages and there is a probability that it could be cured, but yet there is still a little risk involved.

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" 2 "

He saw her the first time a month ago, in her red dress looking elegantly. She had her face covered, perhaps it was the scorching morning sun. She went under the shade of the tree and felt relieved of the cool air that blew under the shade. It was then he saw her in all her modesty. She had a charm he never saw in anyone. And her smile just blew his mind. He was feeling weird, he was slowly falling for her without knowing. It was the first time he saw her. May be he was infatuated by the beauty, that what he reassured himself. He was feeling lost. The rest of the day he was not himself, he was constantly thinking replaying that one minute of his life that happened that morning while he was waiting for the bus. The night was spent sleepless and he was staring at the stars and making wishing in hope to see her again. The next day, he was totally disappointed when he didn't see her at the bus stop, where he saw her yesterday . He was feeling a little lost, but hope, that he had. His world just blurred in front of his eyes except her who saw in glowing colors. He was ecstatic and truly mesmerized. She was in the same office building as him but a different floor. He never knew what love felt like until he saw her. He fell for her charm, for her completely. He was at loss of words. Later, he met her eyes a couple of times and she smiled. Since she worked n the same office as him and it made it a little easier for him to break the ice and catch up randomly and talk. As the talks became more than usual, he started feeling that she completed him in every way possible. They were so alike in so many ways, their likes and dislikes almost matched. He had a feeling that she was also falling for him. A month later he finally proposed her since he couldn't wait for another month for the Valentines' Day. He was so relieved to find that she also felt the same about him the way he felt about her. He was the happiest man on the planet. But he wanted the Valentine's Day to be special. He was waiting for the right time, to make something special for her, which she will remember for eternity.

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So, what would it be like if I had unlimited powers? As a child I had always dreamed of having at least one superpower. At a certain point of time, I believed that I really had some sort of power. Like when I was staring at the sun from the window of the car, it was moving along with me. Or the moon which moved along with me. I told my cousins about my super power and they had a great laugh, but I had no idea why they were laughing. But then I grew up only to remember that day and feel utterly stupid about myself and the dream of having a superpower was left to my imagination, or perhaps a distant dream. While I was in the process of building what kind of power I wanted, I just couldn't point on just one thing, because only one wouldn't / couldn't suffice my desire. Yes, I was greedy. I am human after all. But why? Why did I ever want any power? There are a million reasons why I want to have a superpower, like I wanted to be invisible so that I could trick people while playing that soccer game, or have extreme intelligence with no match to me and impress others with the innovations and ideas, or to know what other's thoughts were and the list goes on. If you are judging me in any way, I won't stop you. I am trying to be an open book, but haven't you thought about it at least once? Like how you wanted to teleport to the destination that you desire , perhaps with that someone special, or perhaps go back in time and change that one thing which you wish didn't do and is bothering you, or to save someone you care about because you weren't there. Yeah right, that's what I thought! 

Suppose I get unlimited powers on the coming Valentine's day.

Let's assume that the guy in the second epilogue above is me. Now, as imaginary it may sound, please believe it, for a minute perhaps. Given unlimited powers for just one day, whom might I choose and what I might do using the powers to make a memorable day for that special person. Let me break something here, yeah that love vibe that you have started to feel. May be I do something that is totally out of the world and impress that someone special beyond their wildest imagination. But that is just a day of memory. Perhaps, that special someone might just totally start loving me and whatnot. We might talk about it for a few years to come. But then again that one day of unlimited power is over and down the lane I might not bring the magic back whatsoever. Because I have set the bar for the Valentines' Day so high that a normal me could never meet it even in the wildest dreams. And what if, a year later I find myself with a remark from her in the lines of "You have changed". What if I am asked to recreate that day somehow  and I fail to do so? What then? "You have changed" has ruined more relationships that one could possibly count even when they haven't changed a bit. The point being, I would want someone to love me for the person I am, not the "unlimited powers" I might / might not have ( even it's for a day). I am not perfect and I know that. And I want that special someone to just love that in me, the imperfection. Perfection is a virtue, we all know, but then again it is sometimes overrated and undermined and not all can have it, and those who have it, struggle each day to keep it intact. 

But ...

What if I track down that kid in the first epilogue and help him? I have lived long enough to understand how precious a life is. So, what if I help that kid in some way, like say cure his illness. Remember that I have unlimited powers and that means I could do anything, have anything, but the person I would be choosing will be a total stranger. So What! Because I just might bring some happiness to two people(his parents) and a chance for that kid to live a life he was yet to explore, discover and live. I would be helping a total stranger and I just make it the most memorable day for three people.

But then why stop there? There are a lot of kids like him all around the world. Yes, they are strangers, but does that even matter now? I would be having "unlimited powers" just for one day, so I would have a busy day on that Valentines Day. While I am it, I am getting a million things that I just might do, change the world, world peace, stop world hunger, a cure for cancer / AIDS, help people in dire need, whatnot! I could go on and on. But before you start resenting me for taking "advantage of the situation" or "getting out of the purview", just imagine that kid and the his family, just imagine their faces, just imagine (for one moment) their happiness and what they might be thinking and all in all I am not anticipating anything in return. I would have already got the greatest reward. Satisfaction! 

Am I exaggerating? Really ? AM I? Huh, you really think so? You think I am being totally stupid and speculating ( "too much" ) out of the boundary of the topic, right? Well, what would you do ? Do follow the link for more details and what you might do for the Valentine's day if you have "unlimited powers" - Baggout Blogging Contest.

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"This post has been written for Baggout's Blogging Contest in Valentine's Day. Baggout provides awesome deals on Flipkart, Jabong, Snapdeal, Amazon and 100+ other online stores."