Crosswords of Life.

Sometimes even the smallest of gestures from you go unnoticed in life.Many a times we even fail to realize that these small gestures can be a big deal for someone else.

Am one of those useless kind of guy,who loves playing around,average in studies,and who  never ever bothers of whats happening around.
One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class walking home from school. His name was Neetin Thomas. It looked like he was carrying all of his books back home. I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd." I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends the following afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.

As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him, while he landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes.
On any usual day,i wouldn't have even bothered to take a look at him,but that day i felt a little sympathy for this kid.My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him, and as he crawled around looking for his glasses, I saw a tear in his eye.
I handed him his glasses and said, "Those guys are jerks,Just ignore them.
He looked at me and said, "Hey, thanks!" There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude. I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. It turned out he lived near my house, so I asked him why I had never seen him before. He said he had gone to private school before coming to this school.

I would have never hung out with a private school kid before. We talked all the way home, and I carried his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play football on Saturday with me and my friends. He said yes. We hung all weekend and the more I got to know about Neetin, the more I liked him and my friends thought the same of him. Monday morning came, and there was Neetin with the huge stack of books again. I stopped him and said, "Damn boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!". He just laughed and handed me half the books. Over the next four years, Neetin and I became best friends.

When we were seniors, we began to think about college. I knew that we would always be friends and whatever we choose, distances between us would never be a problem. He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship. Neetin was valedictorian of our class.

I teased him all the time about being a nerd. He had to prepare a speech for our graduation.I had helped with the preparing the speech whole night,picking up many wonderful memories of our college life,but I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak.
Graduation day arrived - I saw Neetin and he looked charming. He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked good in glasses. He had more dates than me and all the girls loved him!Boy, sometimes I was so jealous. Today was one of those days. I could see that he was nervous about his speech. So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey  bro, you'll be great!"

He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled. "Thanks dear," he said. As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began. "Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach... but mostly your friends. I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell you a story."

I stared at my friend in disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met,something which was out of the speech we had prepared earlier.
He had planned to kill himself over the weekend. He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his books home that day. He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile. "Thankfully, I was saved by an angel. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."

I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment. I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile. Not until that moment did I realize its depth.
I dint feel myself useless for the first time in my life.I was proud,so was my parents.My dad who had never appreciated me once in my lifetime,hugged me and said" son,you,have grown up".I couldn't stop my tears,i wept like a baby,in my dad's arms.


Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture you can change a person's life. For better or for worse. God puts us all in each others lives to impact one another in some way. That's the way its designed.

"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."