Congratulations !
You have been awarded points.
Thank you for !
- Story Listed as: Fiction For Adults
- Theme: Drama / Human Interest
- Subject: Ethics / Morality
- Published: 12/17/2018
Souls have same color
Born 1999, M, from Chennai, IndiaMy 10 year old son was staring at the mirror for so long this morning. He isn’t generally a person who cares about his looks.
“Hey, you alright there buddy?”
No answer.
“Son, are you fine?”.
No answer.
I walked up to him and gently placed my hands on his shoulders, and he turned back with a sudden jerk.
“Hey Hey , it’s just me. Are you alright?”
He nodded.
“No you are not. Tell me, what’s bothering you?”
“ I want to ask you something ,Daddy”.
“Go aheah”.
“Why am I so black”?
“What?”
“I’m Black Daddy. I’m dark skinned. Why?”
I didn’t know what to say.
“Why do you ask that?”
“They make fun of me.”
“Who’s they?”
“Everyone. My Principal, my classmates, my teacher.”
“Well, do you resent any of them for doing that to you?”
“No”.
“There you go”.
“That doesn’t answer my question, Dad”. He put down his face.
“Well, it does. Listen. They judge for your complexion and yet you don’t resent them. Which means you have a pure heart. And as the words of the Great Mahatma Gandhi goes, “ To a pure heart, all hearts are pure.”
My son looked puzzled.
Maybe it was too sophisticated for him to ponder the meaning of that sentence at his age.
“Give it some thought son, you would understand. Now let’s get you to school”.
I dropped off my son in the school and came back home. I had my day off. I decided to watch some TV. But the question my kid asked me kept lingering back in my mind.
I couldn’t even begin to Fathom that a 10 year old boy was made to think about his skin color. I was really mad at the school, but it was the only place I could send him to study which was financially viable for me.
I decided to divert my mind and started surfing the channels.
***5 hours later.***
My phone started buzzing.
“Mr Gordon speaking.”
“Sir, we are calling from your son’s school. We need you to come down here right now.”
“What? What happened?”. My voice was clearly over-pitched.
“We’ll talk when you are here, Sir. Hurry.”
I drove over to his school quickly which was a quick 15 min drive.
On my entry to the campus, I raised a few eyes for sure, and even heard a racist comment about my complexion.
I rushed to the Principal’s office. My son was standing beside her with his hands down and was in tears.
I rushed to my son, but I was stopped by the Principal.
“Sit down sir.”
I sat down reluctantly.
“Lately, your son has not been following any on campus rules. This has lead to multiple issues among the student and the teacher community. It is high time that we bring this to your attention and you make the necessary amendments.”
I nodded.
“What’s the issue?”
“Well, today at the canteen, Your son punched his fellow classmate and he has been bruised badly.”
I was shocked and stunned. My son? Punching others? That’s not like him at all.
“Why?” I asked the Principal.
“That’s not the point sir. No reason justifies his action.”
“ Well, being the Father of that kid, I am sure he won’t swear at someone let alone punch them. There has got to be a reason or he must have been provoked. Tell me the full story now.”
“Well, if you must know, your son sat on a Table which is reserved for a specific group of students”.
“What? What does that mean?”
“It means your son is not supposed to sit there. Now I called you here to talk about what your son did, not why he did it.”
“Well, Principal, that’s the most BS that I have heard from a person in my entire life. You have called me here to complain about the way my son behaved. And you are telling me you made him sit on a separate table because he was not “supposed’ to sit somewhere. What the else is going on here? This is a goddamn school and this place is supposed to treat everyone the same way.”
“ This is MY school, and this is MY rule. If you are so uncomfortable with it, you are free to go elsewhere. But in my campus, students follow my rules. Is that clear, sir?”
My heart was raising and my whole body was filled with rage. All I wanted to do now was stand up and beat that guy to pulp.
“In that case, effective immediately, my son is no longer a student of this stupid school.”
I banged the desk, and rushed out the door.
“I’m sorry Dad”.
My son looked at me with tears welling up in his eyes.
“There is nothing to be sorry son. This is not a good place. We will find a better one.”
I kissed him on his forehead. As we were driving past the street, a teenage boy was laying on the street. People surrounded him and he was bleeding. He was hit by a vehicle. The Ambulance was on it’s way but it didn’t seem like he had enough time. I quickly made my way through the crowd.
“Pick him up, I will take him to the hospital”.
I took the purse that was laying beside him on the ground.
I opened it hoping there would be some information about his parents. And to my surprise, I found the picture of my son’s Principal in his purse. He was his father.
A few men picked the boy up to my car. I drove as fast as I could to the Hospital.
“Did you inform his parents?”
I asked the receptionist.
“Yes sir. I have talked to his Father. He is on his way.”
He was taken to the ICU unit.
A nurse came jolting off the room and seemed tensed.
“What’s the issue?” I asked her.
“ The boy is losing blood a lot. We need a AB negative blood group before we can carry on with our operation. But it is a rare group and not easy to find. We don’t know what to do.”
“What group did you say?”
“AB negative”.
“ My son is the same blood group. We will be happy to help.”
“I don’t want to force you buddy. Feel free to say no if you don’t want to do it.”
“I don’t know him Daddy, but I will help him. I want to help him.”
“That’s my boy”.
I hugged my son tight. I felt proud. Really proud.
Quickly, arrangements were made to take blood from my son.
Later, me and my son were waiting in the visitor’s place until the boy’s father arrived.
“Thank you for your co-operation sir. The son’s Father has arrived and he wants to meet you before you leave.” , the nurse said.
“Sure. I will be right there.”
As I expected, the Principal was extremely stunned to see me.
Suddenly, he hugged me so hard and cried. I didn’t know what to do. I just went along and gave him a hug.
“I am sorry, I am so sorry.”
He sobbed as he spoke.
“Don’t be. Take care of your boy. I am sure he will be alright soon.”
“ I am sorry for the way I spoke to you, and your son.”
“Did you know that he was my son?”, he asked me.
“I did.”
“Why did you help him then?”
I laughed.
“ Because that’s what is humanity. That’s what is ethical. That’s what is…the right thing to do.”
He didn’t speak. He had nothing to speak. He was just stammering, trying hard to bring some words out of his mouth.
“Go ahead. Take care of your son” I told him.
I walked away.
***2 weeks Later****
“ Please, sit down.”
My son’s principal had invited me over to his house.
“How’s your son?”
“He is well. He is recovering. The Doctors said they could save him only because he was brought to the hospital on the right time. Thanks to you. I can’t tell you how grateful I feel for you.”
I smiled.
“ I would be more than happy to take your son back to my school.”
“Well, sorry, but I am really not interested in that.”
“But…”
“Just hear me out” I interrupted him.
“ He has had a bad experience there. That memory doesn’t fade away quickly. So let’s not disturb him right now. Though I do have something I really wanted to say to you.”
“Please, go ahead.”
“ Discrimination based on skin colour is stupid. White, Black, Brown or whatever. God created us the same way. We are meant to help each other, live with each other. There is not higher class or middle class based on the complexion. Blood is red , irrespective of the skin tone, isn’t it?. It is your duty as the Principal of your school, to make sure your children outgrow these stupid discriminations. Our skin tones may be different, but our colors of the soul are same. I hope you get my point.”
“ I do” , he said.
“Good.”
I shook his hand and walked away.
Souls have same color(Vaibhav)
My 10 year old son was staring at the mirror for so long this morning. He isn’t generally a person who cares about his looks.
“Hey, you alright there buddy?”
No answer.
“Son, are you fine?”.
No answer.
I walked up to him and gently placed my hands on his shoulders, and he turned back with a sudden jerk.
“Hey Hey , it’s just me. Are you alright?”
He nodded.
“No you are not. Tell me, what’s bothering you?”
“ I want to ask you something ,Daddy”.
“Go aheah”.
“Why am I so black”?
“What?”
“I’m Black Daddy. I’m dark skinned. Why?”
I didn’t know what to say.
“Why do you ask that?”
“They make fun of me.”
“Who’s they?”
“Everyone. My Principal, my classmates, my teacher.”
“Well, do you resent any of them for doing that to you?”
“No”.
“There you go”.
“That doesn’t answer my question, Dad”. He put down his face.
“Well, it does. Listen. They judge for your complexion and yet you don’t resent them. Which means you have a pure heart. And as the words of the Great Mahatma Gandhi goes, “ To a pure heart, all hearts are pure.”
My son looked puzzled.
Maybe it was too sophisticated for him to ponder the meaning of that sentence at his age.
“Give it some thought son, you would understand. Now let’s get you to school”.
I dropped off my son in the school and came back home. I had my day off. I decided to watch some TV. But the question my kid asked me kept lingering back in my mind.
I couldn’t even begin to Fathom that a 10 year old boy was made to think about his skin color. I was really mad at the school, but it was the only place I could send him to study which was financially viable for me.
I decided to divert my mind and started surfing the channels.
***5 hours later.***
My phone started buzzing.
“Mr Gordon speaking.”
“Sir, we are calling from your son’s school. We need you to come down here right now.”
“What? What happened?”. My voice was clearly over-pitched.
“We’ll talk when you are here, Sir. Hurry.”
I drove over to his school quickly which was a quick 15 min drive.
On my entry to the campus, I raised a few eyes for sure, and even heard a racist comment about my complexion.
I rushed to the Principal’s office. My son was standing beside her with his hands down and was in tears.
I rushed to my son, but I was stopped by the Principal.
“Sit down sir.”
I sat down reluctantly.
“Lately, your son has not been following any on campus rules. This has lead to multiple issues among the student and the teacher community. It is high time that we bring this to your attention and you make the necessary amendments.”
I nodded.
“What’s the issue?”
“Well, today at the canteen, Your son punched his fellow classmate and he has been bruised badly.”
I was shocked and stunned. My son? Punching others? That’s not like him at all.
“Why?” I asked the Principal.
“That’s not the point sir. No reason justifies his action.”
“ Well, being the Father of that kid, I am sure he won’t swear at someone let alone punch them. There has got to be a reason or he must have been provoked. Tell me the full story now.”
“Well, if you must know, your son sat on a Table which is reserved for a specific group of students”.
“What? What does that mean?”
“It means your son is not supposed to sit there. Now I called you here to talk about what your son did, not why he did it.”
“Well, Principal, that’s the most BS that I have heard from a person in my entire life. You have called me here to complain about the way my son behaved. And you are telling me you made him sit on a separate table because he was not “supposed’ to sit somewhere. What the else is going on here? This is a goddamn school and this place is supposed to treat everyone the same way.”
“ This is MY school, and this is MY rule. If you are so uncomfortable with it, you are free to go elsewhere. But in my campus, students follow my rules. Is that clear, sir?”
My heart was raising and my whole body was filled with rage. All I wanted to do now was stand up and beat that guy to pulp.
“In that case, effective immediately, my son is no longer a student of this stupid school.”
I banged the desk, and rushed out the door.
“I’m sorry Dad”.
My son looked at me with tears welling up in his eyes.
“There is nothing to be sorry son. This is not a good place. We will find a better one.”
I kissed him on his forehead. As we were driving past the street, a teenage boy was laying on the street. People surrounded him and he was bleeding. He was hit by a vehicle. The Ambulance was on it’s way but it didn’t seem like he had enough time. I quickly made my way through the crowd.
“Pick him up, I will take him to the hospital”.
I took the purse that was laying beside him on the ground.
I opened it hoping there would be some information about his parents. And to my surprise, I found the picture of my son’s Principal in his purse. He was his father.
A few men picked the boy up to my car. I drove as fast as I could to the Hospital.
“Did you inform his parents?”
I asked the receptionist.
“Yes sir. I have talked to his Father. He is on his way.”
He was taken to the ICU unit.
A nurse came jolting off the room and seemed tensed.
“What’s the issue?” I asked her.
“ The boy is losing blood a lot. We need a AB negative blood group before we can carry on with our operation. But it is a rare group and not easy to find. We don’t know what to do.”
“What group did you say?”
“AB negative”.
“ My son is the same blood group. We will be happy to help.”
“I don’t want to force you buddy. Feel free to say no if you don’t want to do it.”
“I don’t know him Daddy, but I will help him. I want to help him.”
“That’s my boy”.
I hugged my son tight. I felt proud. Really proud.
Quickly, arrangements were made to take blood from my son.
Later, me and my son were waiting in the visitor’s place until the boy’s father arrived.
“Thank you for your co-operation sir. The son’s Father has arrived and he wants to meet you before you leave.” , the nurse said.
“Sure. I will be right there.”
As I expected, the Principal was extremely stunned to see me.
Suddenly, he hugged me so hard and cried. I didn’t know what to do. I just went along and gave him a hug.
“I am sorry, I am so sorry.”
He sobbed as he spoke.
“Don’t be. Take care of your boy. I am sure he will be alright soon.”
“ I am sorry for the way I spoke to you, and your son.”
“Did you know that he was my son?”, he asked me.
“I did.”
“Why did you help him then?”
I laughed.
“ Because that’s what is humanity. That’s what is ethical. That’s what is…the right thing to do.”
He didn’t speak. He had nothing to speak. He was just stammering, trying hard to bring some words out of his mouth.
“Go ahead. Take care of your son” I told him.
I walked away.
***2 weeks Later****
“ Please, sit down.”
My son’s principal had invited me over to his house.
“How’s your son?”
“He is well. He is recovering. The Doctors said they could save him only because he was brought to the hospital on the right time. Thanks to you. I can’t tell you how grateful I feel for you.”
I smiled.
“ I would be more than happy to take your son back to my school.”
“Well, sorry, but I am really not interested in that.”
“But…”
“Just hear me out” I interrupted him.
“ He has had a bad experience there. That memory doesn’t fade away quickly. So let’s not disturb him right now. Though I do have something I really wanted to say to you.”
“Please, go ahead.”
“ Discrimination based on skin colour is stupid. White, Black, Brown or whatever. God created us the same way. We are meant to help each other, live with each other. There is not higher class or middle class based on the complexion. Blood is red , irrespective of the skin tone, isn’t it?. It is your duty as the Principal of your school, to make sure your children outgrow these stupid discriminations. Our skin tones may be different, but our colors of the soul are same. I hope you get my point.”
“ I do” , he said.
“Good.”
I shook his hand and walked away.
- Share this story on
- 2
Ramasubbulakshmi.R.
03/21/2021Dear Vaibhav,
A very good story. I really shed tears, reading the story.
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Heather Lacks
01/26/2020Judging someone based on a label or characteristic causes us to stay ignorant. When we realize that we are one of many and all perspectives deserve a voice, the world changes. An important lesson!
Reply
COMMENTS (2)