Mentor For Life

By Puja Chandrashekhar Satpute

In a Cafè, taking a sip of coffee and flipping the pages of magazine, I eagerly waited for my date. My stomach was tickling and the ticking of clock was making me impatient. Almost after a decade I was going to meet her.

...

Decade and a half ago I was a dump child without any vision. My life took a turn when I first met her. Being a naughty child, I did so many mischievous things. Finally the day came which changed my attitude forever and taught me a lifetime lesson.

...

Thinking about it made me so nostalgic that out of the blue, I drank 4 cups of coffee. When I was about to order my 5th one, I heard a slight creaking of door. Quickly I stood up and looked towards the sound. My eyes were locked with the deep set of brown eyeballs. Oh God! It was so mesmerizing. With a welcoming gesture, I pulled out a chair and it took us an eternity to start our conversation.

In the spur of the moment, I was welcome with a light smack on my cheek. As I was about to dissent, I was presented with a nicely wrapped gift. Excitedly, I opened it and found a familiar book. I strained my brain but could not recall it’s existence. After seeing a look of utter confusion on my face, with a sarcastic laugh, I received another stack of papers on which lot of workings were done. Studying my facial expression for some time, in a mushy voice she echoed, ‘I solved the equation challenge which you gave me 15 years ago.’

I laughed and hugged my Maths teacher tightly. My mentor who changed my life positively.

Remembering the good old days, with a sip of aromatic coffee, we chatted freely.

We all have one such teacher who holds our hand and help us to restart our life by showing precise direction. For me, my maths teacher is a mentor who once paved the path of ‘honesty’ and protected me from drizzling of wrongdoings.

By Puja Chandrashekhar Satpute