Seconds Count

2:50 pm…That was exactly what my digital watch displayed. The gong outside the Staff Room confirmed it. All at once, things looked to move so slowly. I’m suddenly; slow to understand what the teacher has to say, the chit chats, the gossips all seem to be moronic. One thing that was gaining pace was my heartbeat.  At one instance I’m staring at my watch and then time after time I find my eyeballs glued to the nearby ground (Big Field).

My world seemed to be narrowed down to the nine chalked- lines that ran straight across the length of the ground. This length, as measured by some random group of people, led by Parmeshwar jee, was somewhat close to 100 meters. Twelve long years had I been sprinting on one or the other lanes formed by those nine-chalked lines, but never did I question the length in terms of meters. Meters was not my unit of measure, I measured length in seconds.

Once again, the gong outside the Staff Room shrieked and this time the cry was quite long.  I did not look at my watch because I knew the moment has come. Everything around me was brisk, or rather I was lagging. My prolonged walk to the changing room said the story.  I was nervous, my hands were all cold; my body weight, all of a sudden had multiplied.

Moments later the white had changed to blue, red and yellow, the long grey trousers had camouflaged to black shorts. I could now see the occupants of remaining seven lanes.

It was minutes before the empty tracks would again get empty.

I slid my spikes into my bare broad feet. This only pair of spikes I ever possessed was gifted. I still have them; I sprint no more.

In the eight vertical tracks stood eight athletes horizontally aligned in colors of red, blue, yellow and at times green as well. All aiming to cover those 100 meters in the shortest span they possibly could.

The whistle blew and seconds later there was a winner.

The event was a matter of seconds, but the celebrations went on for hours thereafter. I never aimed at a podium finish. I just wanted to be the first to take the ribbon past the finish line. The two things that inspired me to do so was the breezing wind brushing against me and the ribbon that was waiting for me at the finish line.