When Tom finally met Harry
There was once a young boy called Tom. Tom was a wonderful boy. He had all the makings of a successful person, he would never tire of work, he was honest, helping others made him feel better and he was also very smart. There was just one problem. When Tom was three years old, he lost his right leg in an accident. He had to walk with crutches for the rest of his life. Well, he could also turn to a wheelchair but that was besides the point.
This was one thing that always held Tom back. Deep down, he knew that he was always destined for great things. He was not arrogant, but he had recognized his own potential. The flip side to this was that Tom knew this too that he was disabled. He knew he could never live to be even half of what he was meant to be because of his disability. So, he resorted to acceptance. But he made a grave mistake. He did not accept his disability, he accepted that he was disabled. He did not choose to move on, he chose to build his own life around the fact that he did not have two legs.
Whatever Tom did, he felt triumphant but all that he was unable to do, he blamed on his disability. Tom was never able to drive a car, not because he had a disability, but because he knew he couldn’t. He never got a proper job because he felt that his interviewers would reject him straightaway.
One day, while looking for a work assignment online, Tom met Harry. Harry asked Tom to design an ad campaign for his new range of running shoes. Tom did a great job. He was very creative as well. Harry was so impressed that he offered Tom a full time position at his media agency. Tom was apprehensive but as he was required to work from home, he felt there was no harm and he took up the job. Time went by.
Harry went on to become a big guy and his media agency went on to become a big company. When he was expanding and moving into his newer bigger office, he told Tom he had a cabin ready for him as Head Designer. Tom, afraid that all his hard work would be wasted when the world realized he was disabled, chose to decline the offer. He had an impressive resume now and could get another online assignment easily. Harry was unhappy as he wanted to retain all his old staff but when Tom did not agree, Harry gave in. Time went by, again.
One day Tom got a letter. Harry had passed away and his funeral was being held not too far away from where Tom lived. Tom, who had a reasonably comfortable life now, felt he owed Harry at least a visit. Nobody recognized him by face so it wouldn’t matter now anyway. So, on the date of the funeral, he wore his best suit and went to see the person who helped him to become what he was today, who he never actually met in life.
As soon as he reached, Tom heard a woman reading out the obituary. Since she did not look too young, he thought it would be his wife or maybe a sister. What he heard next, made him too uncomfortable. He turned around and left immediately. The words of the woman “Since he was five, Harry never let his lower body paralysis come in his way” still ringing in his ears. Tom felt horrible. As he cried inside, he could think of only one thing. If only his accident could have waited two years to happen..
