The Awakening

10:15, February 8, 1997

L. K. G (equivalent to kindergarten), the three magical words were something Luke despised even before he learnt to decipher those strange looking symbols.

It was an old building that had a roof made of cement bricks.

The leader of this building was a grumpy old man, a former soldier who now walks with a stick to support his back.

He did not talk much and look was keen to observe his grey mustache that was huge and had twists at the tip.

Luke thought it was silly for a grown man to have whiskers like his cat, and this made him laugh.

Luke, accompanied by him mom was then introduced to a tall and stern looking woman with high heels, pointed nose, and glasses.

The mother pointed to this woman's face, and asked Luke to call her a 'Teecha".

While Luke was intrigued by this new word, and how different this woman looked to any woman he has come across, the curiosity and enthusiasm he had was short lived.

The teacher made him draw on things called notebooks of all shapes and sizes and he absolutely despised this.

Even the thought of having to hold a pencil made him angry!

He also did not like the fact that everyone around him wore the same dress that he was wearing.

Luke was overwhelmed when he came into contact with the thing called school.

The building appeared to him like a forest with dry leaves floating in the air and on the ground.

He particularly loved the crocodile and monkeys that never moved and did not bite or scratch like the stupid cats at his home.

He was also very curios about the wooden log which was tied to two ropes that kept swinging up and down.

The first time Luke visited the school, and classroom, he had his mother along with him, but on day 2, his mother waved goodbye and left.

And then, there was silence....

The whole atmosphere had the smell of plastic water bottles, umbrellas and of course, the waxy smell of shoe polish.

This was too much to bear for little Luke who cried like a little baby all over again and this made everyone cry out at the same time.

Attempts to console Luke failed miserably and in time, the routine of school became a routine he despised and hated like anything.

Mondays became a nightmare and Fridays became a blessing.

Luke absolutely hated cold morning baths.

Then he had to walk with his father who had by then made a habit of telling stories.

The little innocent heart of Luke melted on stories and his father knew how to use it to perfection.

Everything was fun and games, until the round eyed green Volkswagen van came and stopped.

Luke hated the frog eyed van which smelled of grease everywhere.

First few days were torture and he cried a river inside the van.

But his father found a workaround for that problem! He made an offer that Luke could not resist. The front seat experience!

Torture suddenly became a joy ride and this was the awakening of the petrol head inside of Luke, for he would then start noticing everything that had two eyes, wheels and horns.

But he still despised school, and hoped that he could escape the giant walls surrounding the building.

That was until that day finally came!

Luke strolled through the walkway and the dry leaves beneath his feet crumbled in agony and horror.

He was almost near the high walls with broken bottles on top surrounding the school.

All of a sudden, Luke gets the shock of his life, when he hears a lion roaring from the other side....

To be continued.