Be Special.

He stood out among the others. Looked twenty-four, but had that heart of a ten year old. I don’t know why I sat behind him, though our seats were on the other side of the hall. A conspiracy maybe.  And I saw him, seated between his parents, his Dad had that broad smile of pride, Mom had none. Something about that family made me observe them, yes he was physically and mentally different, special actually, at least he had that care free smile which many of us fail to showcase in a lifetime. But there was more, a certain bond between the three.

The guy didn’t appear to suffocate by the overdose of love, like many of us will. We have an image to protect outside, don’t we? He laughed, he smiled and he chuckled. Yes, he was enjoying those old Hindi songs. And with every smile that he had, his Dad’s hand reached his mom from behind his chair and they had that silent stare at their special son.

Yes, it touched me. It would have touched anyone. And brought tears, but they weren’t tears of pity but tears of a different kind of joy that I felt seeing them. Obviously it isn’t easy to raise a son like him, but they didn’t show it. For them it was like any other thing, the daily, the usual. Every time one of his favorites was played, he would hug his dad and the man would kiss him in turn. Pure.

Nothing has touched me like this in a long long time. The way they were one united group, a close knit family, it made me think how long it had been that I sat together with my family, hand in hand. A while now. Maybe because we are too busy being “not special”. Being just the “normal ones.”

I know he was only one of them, one of the many others, some get the love they deserve, some don’t. Some get their due share or more, some struggle. But what it made me realize is how mediocre we are in front of them. How much we are missing in life.

I hope he continues to live, continues to be loved by his parents, and continues to inspire many others, like me, to live, in the truest way. Smile a lot. Hug your parents while you still can. And express your love.  Be special!!