The Ruin 

"memories are eternal"

I was standing in front of the school.my school actually,just that it was about 26 years ago.i remember each moment that i spent here.it was a magical time,friends ,classes,holidays,tours,fights,scoldings,the list could go on forever.i could still hear the bell ringing ,eager to get us all inside our classes.i could still feel the cool breeze that would favour us by its presence on hot ,humid ,powerless days.i could still see all those eager faces getting restless to go home at 4:00 clock and i could still experience the heart breaking pain when you leave it forever.i had actually left the entire city along with my school.just as my school got over my dad was transferred to delhi ,and i left my school and kerala almost forever. but now i was back, to get one of my certicicates which i lost recently.actually the chance of getting it back was very weak. Any way trying wont hurt,will it?i made my way through the front gate.i was a little surprised to see that the watch man at the gate was absent.maybe he had left to have his lunch,it was noon already.The school had not changed a bit ,the faded cream was still the same and the tulsis appeared eternally unchanging .i went straight through the iron grill and was standing in front of the garden.actually my school has a garden,well sort of a garden ,surrounded by four blocks full of class rooms,the ground floor had the principals office,the chemistry lab, the pt room and sverel classes.the library and physics lab were in the first floor,while maths and biology labs occupied the third floor mainly.and the last floor is the fine arts block ,the computer is lab is also there.and by the way the office is alson in the ground floor and i hoped to get my certificate from there .at present i i could see many cheerful faces running here and there.it was time for the recess.suddenly a girl about 10 years old bumped into me. she was very pretty and said a very long sorry that took almost 3 minutes, and at last gave me one of the smiles that kids often give when in trouble.and shoooo she was off and soon  disappeared into into the crowd.but i felt realy puzzled,that girl looked very familiar though ther was not even a small chance that i had met that girl before.i couldnt make out the reason for that starnge familiarty  that ifelt.but the feeling just got stronger as i saw more faces.every child appeared too familiar ,that i couldnt just beleive that i was seeing them for the first time in my life.But as i was not in a mood to go behind the issue , ijust stopped thinking about it.as i entered  the office,i could see a lady sitting behind the desk her head immersed in a paper.i couldnt see her face.i asked her about my certificates and she just replied without lifting her head even for a moment.i thought it was realy rude of her , not looking in the face while talking.but after a fifeteen minutes conversation ,i could almost make out that i was not gonna get that certificate of mine.i was realy disappointed ,but was not gonna make my visit a waste,i got permission from her to look around and see the school.but i was not permitted to enter any classrooms,lab,orcanteen.but roaming around was more than enough for me.i started my journy , iwent through all the passages ,and corridors.what caught my attention was that nothing,absolutely nothing had changed.everything looked just as they did when i last saw them.and even the smell had not changed.though i was i surprised i didnt take all that into my head and decided to enjoy the rest of my journy.at last  i came back to the starting and was about to reach the gate,when i suddenly saw someone standing there ,holding a torch and a wooden stick .it was the watchman ,i could make out.and when i came closer i saw his face clearly and couldnt breathe ,it was the same old man who was here when i had left,and he had not aged a bit.i just coulndnt beleive myself.and the i turned my head ,dont know why,and saw the lady whom i saw in the office ,standing there at the grill,and igaped when i saw her .she too was the same lady who worked here almost 27 years ago ,and hadnt aged a day,even her saree seemed the same.she was smiling at me.all this was too much for m and i just raan out of the gate ,took my scooter and headed back home.i couldnt find any beleivable explanation for all those things.at last i just comforted myself saying that maybe that lady was the daughter of the earlier one and that would be the cause of this similarity.and just i was on my way i saw a man ,a young man with sparking eyes.he smiled at me ,and i stopped my scooter.he wanted a lift to the nearby bus stop and i readily agreed.as we neared our destination,he asked me my name and whereabouts and enquired why i was here.i gave him the details and told him the cause of this visit .he looked shocked when i told him about the day at my school."are you sure" he asked me , but i couldnt make out what he was refering to. he explained himself ,by telling me that the school which iwas referring to had been demolished a couple of years ago,the watchman lost his job and died due to extreme poverty i year back and the lady at the office ,she had retired and is leaving a peaceful life in her village.according to him there was absolutely no way that what i saw today was true unless i was dreaming.i heard him in silence,thoughts rushed into my mind like a hurricane,and my ability to reason was lodt.i didnt know whether to beleive him or not,he appeared mad to me ,because i was pretty sure that whatever happened today was real.as i was thinking we reached the bus stop ,and he got off he waved me goodbye.but i couldnt wave back,i was so immersed in my thoughts that i scarcely noticed hids departure. my thoughts were at last disturbed by a intense honking behind me. thats when i saw that i was  in the midst of a traffic jam which i had created myself.i got out of that mess,but not without being shouted at by an old man who got stuck in that jam. just as i got out i  turned back my scooter and once again was heading towards my school.i dont know why i did that ,but i had an intese feeling that i should find out the reality .i soon reached the sme place and looked through the school gates . i was at a lossfor words.i couldnt beleive my own eyes,where a few minute ago stood a magnificient building  full of chattering children and staff,stoo an enormous wreck of an old building.i could make out that it wasthe same old building ,but  it was comletely ravaged ,and no one absolutely no one was present ther.i could now make out the reason for the familiar faces that i saw today and the all those strange feelings that i had.i couldnt bear the heart breaking sight anymore,i turned my head away and started walking back to my scooter.once my back was turned i started hearing the chatters once more.icould also hear the bell ringing ,eager to get everyone back to work,and i could also hear the eager footsteps of  the staffs . i didnt turn back , i still am not sure why,but i could feel tears rolling down my eyes, i wondered why i didnt see my own face among all those eager faces today .