SHORT STORY

“Do it, Kai!” said his mother with a displeasing look.

This made Kai forcefully look into the black squiggly lines which never made any sense to him. No matter how hard he tried, he always found words mocking at him and the sentences becoming entangled. He read aloud and the words never came out right. His parents saw him struggling, yet they left him all alone with the unintelligible books. They were always sure that there was potential in him.

Once a flyer came to Kai’s home announcing “Every Kid is Unique” program. Kai’s parents eagerly attended a demo session. The presenters gave a lecture on how every kid could find a talent. After the session, the parents realized how foolish it was to force him into studying the regular books rather than putting him in extracurricular activities where he could shine. They understood that Kai always struggled at his studies due to dyslexia, so they enrolled him in several sessions of dance, music, swimming.

After a few weeks, Kai found his true calling, swimming. As he practiced, Kai put the rest of the studies aside and focused only on one thing, swimming. He practiced for many months and eventually entered many competitions and won many laurels which made his parents prouder than ever. More importantly, Kai no longer felt himself to be crippled by his dyslexia, but he was proud of his new-found strengths. He was so glad for that.

by

Abhi Varshini Velpuru

Class IX

Written in November 2023