Life is never too fair for anyone but this mild harshness of the ways of this austere thing can give you such lessons that can change you forever. The phases of a man’s life go through constant changes in both the body and the mind but the changes which life has in store for you can be intensely effective. But then fate is there too, on which we can put all the blame for our wrong doings. It is in the sinuous nature of the fallen man to hold their destiny responsible for everything that they wrong and curse life on everything bad that happens to him.
There was a time when I was blooming with the glorious charms of the newly came youth. I was the same like everyone; reckless, arrogant and aggressive. Youth is known for intensity and passion but this intensity can derive everything precious away from you without you knowing of it. You get lost somewhere in your own imaginary wonderland where everything happens according to you. Every mistake is redeemable for you but in reality it is not the case. The truth is that once a mistake is made, no matter what you do it cannot be undone. You can compensate for it but cannot change what has being done.
It has been long ago now but the memory of that day still shrugs my body and shakes up my soul. I would never say that being young gives you the authority to do anything you want although I also once believed this myth. Of course you can do what you enjoy but only when your joy is not becoming the cause of sorrow to others. I know I was a little late to realize it and it is possible that I would have never realized it if I wasn’t meant to learn a lifelong lesson.
I belonged to an influential business family and born with a silver spoon. As I was the only child to my parents, I was always been pampered and this extreme luxurious spoiling made a vicious little monster out of me. I knew whatever I will do will be covered even if it is wrong and that made me all the more careless in my life matters. My father was the head of the trusteeship council of the high school in which I studied. All the funding to my school came from my family so I was free to miss my classes, roam around the school, fight with anyone or destroy anything. Yes! I had fights in school in which obviously I was on the safe side even when I knew I started the war. But I never missed my classes or studies. I was so particular in maintaining my reputation and being the topper was also considered fashionable at that time.
It was my 18th birthday. It was the best day of my life and it was the worst day of my life. When I woke up in the morning my parents came and crowned my like a princess. Then they took me with them to the porch where my brand new Porsche was waiting for me. It was a matte black 918 Spyder hybrid sports car which I was dying to drive. A spoiled child was going to become more spoiled with this luxury. The sad part was that I had found my happiness in material things like my parents because that is all they always gave me and may be that is the only thing they could possibly give. It’s not that my parents didn’t love me; I am sure they did that is why they named me Lida which means loved by all. It was strange for an American girl to have a Russian name but the focus was on the meaning. Love was never an issue; time was.
I always felt lonely because my parents were always giving me every facility that everyone craves for. The facilities overcame my needs and I never experienced the feeling of the utmost affection of parents playing with their children, taking them to parks, mothers feeding them with their own hands. I don’t even know how my mom cooks as we had cooks. I don’t know what it feels like to go outside on a family night or to shopping. When I was younger my nanny accompanied me and now my friends.
So, now I had a new gadget which was going to lead me much closer to my doomed fate. I decided to show it and boost it off in front of my friends. A small party was arranged and Jenna, Christy, and Penelope came anxiously in disbelief. They could also afford one for them but luckily their parents never thought of that up till now. I knew I was a learner and I didn’t know how to drive properly but I had some training and also a license issued only because of some unknown reason. I still don’t know who did it for me. I just took my license and decided to go to shopping with my friends. “Let’s have a ride in this beast” I said. My friends were also excited. My father suddenly came out from nowhere as a changed man with a concerned tensed look on his face.
“Don’t you think you should skip the idea of driving right now and just take the driver with you?” He said this as if he was pleading to me to stop; as if he saw a nightmare about something bad to happen. I never saw him like that; he was not my father but a different man, the man I wanted him to be all the 18 years of my life. The little lonely girl which hid inside me for a long time started to melt a little but my stubbornness made me furious at his suggestion. “You never cared this much and now when I am legally free to do anything; I do not need your concern, thank you”. Saying this I took my friends, started the car and rushed out in angry speed. I wish I hadn’t said that. I wish I would have listened to him.
The mall was just a few miles away from my house so I didn’t have any difficulty in driving through there. We all had to do shopping for our summer parties and annual high school prom so we grabbed everything we liked. We took some drinks and snacks as well because we planned to go to a long drive on the highway for the speed check of the car. Penelope was the scared crybaby among us and she didn’t consider it a good idea. “You are planning to dive in to danger by going for a speed check when you know well about your driving skills. We can all die by a single silly mistake”. Fear can sometimes become a life savior but for me being fearful was an insult to me so we just didn’t pay heed to her advice. “Don’t act like my dad Penelope”. Her fear was laughed away with our careless attitude. She had to agree for the sake of old friendship.
I shopped without considering that my account balance was low and I always pay right away with what I shop to maintain my credit history so I just paid it off and now I was left with zero account balance. It didn’t bother me as I knew I will ask dad to transfer some money in my account. Of course he will ask me what happened to all that he gave me and I would just have to tell him the truth because I was unable to lie to him. When we came out of the mall, we were about to start our adventure when I received a text from my dad. “If you make a mess this time, remember I will not be helping you. You are legally free and also legally responsible for your actions now”. I knew he was angry but this much I didn’t had the slightest clue. When my dad said something in this tone, he always meant that and I knew I am going to be left alone with an empty account for at least a week or two.
I was hurt deep down because he never talked to me like that and neither did I, and all that on my birthday. I could not cry so my tears turned into fury and I started my car with high race and it speeded up like a roller coaster. His words were whirling around my mind and I was driving recklessly. “Look out Lida!” everyone shouted as we just got saved from a fire truck. I was at the verge of madness and my thinking abilities used to just vanish whenever I was this much aggressive. I didn’t even though for once that there are other people with me whose lives were in my hands. It was so selfish of me.
The bible has described it rightly that a man has to pay for every good or bad deed he does and I was about to pay for my psychotic narcissist behavior. I still have no idea what exactly happen but I lost control on my speed and suddenly a girl of not more than our age came in front of my car. She was probably crossing the lane as the signal was red but I couldn’t stop the car as the brakes were not working. The car just smashed the girl and hit right in a tree. The airbags popped out at the right time and none of us get injured badly; just some starches and scars. We were just in a state of shock and then I realized about the girl. My heartbeat stopped for a moment and I rushed out of the car to run behind to the girl.
It was about 2pm; the time when the locality area’s lanes were almost empty so no one showed up to for our help. The girl laid their unconscious. She was bleeding and was badly injured. I was scared to death of what I had done. My friends also came running towards me. I held the bleeding head of the girl in my lap. Christy was trying to feel her pulse. “She is alive; still breathing”. I called the ambulance and luckily they reached in time. We took her to the hospital immediately. Soon we gathered to contact information of her family and called them. I cannot even think and comprehend about the feelings of her parents to see their daughter like this because of someone else’s daughter.
I wanted to disappear or run away far away from this reality. This was the time when all my arrogance and false pride puffed away like a cigarette smoke. Her mother was crying bitterly and I came to know that Samara is also the only child to her parents. I was filled with guilt and I was drowning in it. Penelope came to me and started shouting, “I told you not to do this, I warned you but God knows what do you think of yourself. What will you do if she dies?” I was soaked in silence and didn’t utter a word in return. Jenna proved to be the most sensible one among us and she suggested that I could help the girl in her hospital expenditure.
We were still waiting outside for the doctor to report the condition of the girl. Soon the doctor came out and told us that there was a bad news. I held my breath for a while. The doctor told her parents that her kidney was badly damaged in the accident and also so much blood is lost. She needed a kidney transplant. The hospital had the matching blood group and kidney donor for Samara. The only problem was the money it was going to cost on the operation of this transplant. Her parents were poor and were hardly affording her school fee. Her mother was continuously weeping and saying “she used to dream of becoming a space scientist with open eyes and now her eyes are not opening”. I was crying as well but was afraid to console her because I was the reason behind her suffering. To my shock she came towards us after sometime and asked us whether we are fine or not. She saw our minor scars and insisted us to get medical aid to avoid infection.
I broke down in tears and hugged her tightly; the way I never even hugged my mother. She soothed me as I asked for her forgiveness. I realized that love and affection is far better and beyond the satisfactory peace which material things can never offer. I remembered of my father’s text. Those words “legally responsible” echoed through my mind and now I was aware that I was the one who is to bear the brunt of my mistake and I will provide the transplant fee for Samara.
Suddenly I felt helpless as I triggered the fact that I do not have even a single dollar in my account and I couldn’t even tell dad about what I have done; couldn’t even ask for money. I had to take responsibility because I was now accountable for my actions. For the first time in forever, I knew what it is to do for others without thinking of your own safety. I knew I could have been sent to jail for this but this was the kindness of the parents of the girl that I was spared from the horror.
At night Samara was back to her conscious state but her condition was still bad. The doctor gave 2days for the transplant otherwise her life was at stake. I hit upon an idea. My credit history was excellent because of my paying habit so I decided to apply for a loan which can be sanctioned within my deadline. I searched for many loan agencies but all of them had different system. Some had strict policies, some had high interest rates and some had long processes which might take time which I didn’t have. Then I found Lending Tree Personal loans. I visited their site and came to know that with a good credit history I was able to get my loan within 24hours time. I was so glad to know that. My credit history was more than good so I got very low interest rate which was good. I just followed some simple step.First I clicked on the link on the site for personal loans.
- I applied for a personal loan and filled up the online application form.
- I filled the loan reason box that I wanted that loan for medical expenses.
- Then another page appeared on which I gave my financial information.
- Within a few minutes I received a notification and I finalized the process.
- I e-sign your contract and my loan in transferred to my account the next evening.
As soon as I received the notification on my phone that my loan has been sanctioned I started running in the corridors of the hospital with tears of joy. That feeling was inexpressible. This happiness was the one that came from the heart and satisfied my soul. Samara’s parents were looking at me with gratitude in their eyes. Her mother came to me and said “I saw the goodness hidden inside you; I knew I will not regret in forgiving you and you did not disappoint me”. I told the doctor to prepare the operation theatre. I transacted the money from my account and paid it on the counter. Almost immediately, the operation started and we were all praying that everything goes well. I had got a new family in Samara’s parents so I automatically felt a sisterly bond with her. I wished I could dream of doing big things like she wanted. I wanted to get inspiration from her. I realized that dreams don’t cost you anything and she was able to dream because she had something to dream about while I had everything but no dreams.
Around three hours had passed when the operation completed. It was a successful transplant and now she was out of danger. A thankful smile of joy settled down on our faces. As soon as Samara was stable her mother told her everything that happened after the accident. She called me and I was finally going to meet her. I went inside the ward with lowered regretful eyes. I was still guilty that she was here because of me. The Lida standing in front of Samara was not the arrogant girl any more who never learned to admit her mistakes. Life teaches us everything. I was now a polite and humble girl who apologized to everyone in a trembling voice. Samara held my hand and hugged me. “If there was someone else in your place, I would have been left alone to die on the street”. Everything was settled down and soon Samara was discharged from the hospital.
It has been six years now and Samara has become my best friend. Her dreams have given me a new way of life. We are now in the same university and we will both become space scientists sooner or later. I visit them almost daily and we study at her place. Her parents love me as their own daughter. My parents also know about her and the whole story behind our friendship. When I was going through all this my dad went out of town in a funeral of a close friend so I couldn’t tell him anything. After I was out of my guilt and regret, I told them what happened and how I handled it because I was legally responsible. They were and are so proud of me. The arrogant, spoiled and demanded girl has been long gone. I think she died in that accident. A new girl rose from the ashes of the old one to become a better version. The phoenix was burned down to emerge in the form of a peace loving dove.
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