THE JOY OF WALKING

 When I was in 12th grade, I usually took the government bus to reach home. But sometimes, if me and my friends felt tired of traveling by bus, we would prefer to take a walk. Sometimes we were forced to walk when there was no bus service. Most Saturdays, we had the practice of walking home. The distance from my home to school is around 2 km. We used to buy lollipops from the shop of a grandmother near our school campus. Sometimes, our juniors also join us. We used to make fun of each other and laugh until our stomach ached. Even though I take a government bus to reach my home again, I have to walk around 7 minutes to reach home. We were around six people. Most of the time, students from other schools who were our area friends also joined us, and the strength would increase to fifteen. There is a junction on the way to my home that gives off the vibe of coffeehouses, which is called chaayakadai in my vernacular language. I could still remember that when we all reach that particular place, we will become so silent. People in the chaayakadai (tea shops) will gaze at us. The reason we all became silent was because we knew that we were under critical scrutiny. At this junction, we started to split, but again, I was accompanied by two of my classmates until I got home. And again, we are actually under scrutiny, but we never care about it. Now on the way to my college as well as returning home, I miss those days when we walked like gangsters because now I have to walk alone to my home.

                                                         Don't cry because it's over.

                                                                       Smile because it happened.-Dr . Seuss