The Mystic Tree

It was a special day for Rohan. He’s all set to attend the interview for his dream job at Google. Rohan has always been a merit student. Though he did not graduate from any of the premier institutes in India, his love for learning has kept him in top scores. He woke up early, finished his morning routine, had his simple breakfast of idly, trimmed his stubble, and got ready in formal wear paired with his polished black shoes. Rohan looked just ready. He seemed cool and composed. Rohan took blessings of his parents before he left to catch his local bus.

It was long distance travel and hence Rohan started well before. The bus Rohan got in wasn’t so crowded. He bought his ticket and sat down relaxed. The bus started moving. Just before he could completely immerse himself in his interview thoughts, Rohan felt a sudden jolt. The bus stopped suddenly as there was a clumsy quarrel happening in the middle of the road that blocked the route. Rohan got down the bus and started walking knowing that it wouldn’t end any soon.  After he walked for a while, something caught his attention. It was a bunch of people trying to cut down a roadside tree. He walked to them in quick steps and asked them why they were cutting it down. Their reason to do so was it was shedding so many dry leaves that season. Puzzled by their answer, Rohan warned them that he would complain to the authorities if they didn’t give up their idea to kill the tree. He threatened them in a loud voice and they had to leave angrily.

If Rohan wasn’t quick enough, they would have killed the tree for no reason. The very thought disturbed him a lot. It was shedding lots of dry leaves and one of them fell in Rohan’s pocket. Not noticing that he quickly made a move as he did not want to be late for the interview. He was in time.

It was his turn. He was feeling strong and surrounded by a positive energy. It was an enigmatic feeling. Soon as he entered the interview chamber, he was asked to take his seat and was posed several questions to assess him. As he came out of the chamber, Rohan seemed confident and optimistic. He walked to start back home. While he was descending the steps as he left the place, he overheard someone say that it’s a prerequisite to graduate from IIT to be placed in Google. That conversation disturbed him. But however since there’s nothing he could do, he just left.

Rohan could not concentrate on anything properly from the moment he overheard them. He started feeling unpleasant. On the way back home, he happened to stop by the same tree he saved in the morning. A dry twig fell on his hair. Rohan could not feel it in his gloomy mood. He stood there for a while and before he made a move, his cell phone vibrated. It was a mail from Google. To his astonishment, it was an offer letter confirming his job. He was surprised that it was so quick and none of the rumours were true. He beamed in glee and was on cloud nine.

Rohan reached home and shared the news with his parents. They were very happy for him. Rohan’s mom cooked his favourite delicacies and his dad presented him the watch he always wanted.

Joyous Rohan sat down to watch television in a blissful mood. Soon as he turned on the television, to his shock, the bus he avoided after saving the tree encountered with an accident. Before he could get out of that, his friend called him and said to him in a sad voice that he lost the interview at Google since he did not graduate from the IIT.

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“Save Trees. They are the only source of free oxygen in the world”