The Power of Friendship
There once lived a little boy whose name was Akshay. He was an admirer of nature and very creative. He used to draw strange drawings and show them to his art teacher, who did not understand them and gave him an F in every class. But still, Akshay did not lose hope. He used to think that people did not understand his drawings because they were beyond human understanding.
He had faced many problems since he was six. His father had passed away when he was four, and he used to get mocked and bullied by kids in school. Yet he did not lose hope—that was because his mother believed in him and also asked Akshay to believe in himself. Still, no one ever understood what his drawings meant. Some would ask him what they meant, some just sat confused, while others made fun of him or laughed at him.
His art teacher, Sanjana, would always ask him what his drawings meant. But even after Akshay explained, she still had no clue and gave him a straight F. He was yet a very cheerful kid at school, at home, and in the neighbourhood, which gave him many friends but also haters.
This continued until he was 20 years old. By then, he had become a famous artist who had made more than 10,000,000 drawings. All his haters would try to kill him, while his admirers protected him. Though he was famous and could live in a mansion, he decided instead to live in a normal flat. That was because his friend, an environmentalist, couldn’t afford a mansion and lived in an apartment.
Akshay’s friend, Krish, was a very close and loyal buddy. They had been friends since 6th grade. Life was normal—until one day.
It was a random Tuesday when Akshay got a phone call while painting. He picked up the call, and a voice from the other end said, “Hello sir, I suppose this is the famous artist Akshay?”
“Yes, this is indeed Akshay. How may I help you?” he answered.
The voice on the other end said, “This is from Manipal Hospital. Your friend, Krish Tejwani, is currently in a coma (a condition where the brain does not work but the heart does).”
This news shocked Akshay. In a shaky voice, he said, “This is impossible! He was fit and fine yesterday.”
“Yes sir,” the caller replied, “but he is in the emergency room right now. We are trying to do something. It would be better if you came here.”
Akshay hung up the phone, left his painting as it was, and rushed to the hospital. There, he found Krish’s parents and asked them what was going on.
Krish’s parents replied, “He went into an accident yesterday and was badly injured on the head. We found out he is in a coma. Thank God you are here.”
A few hours later, the doctor came out of the emergency room and said, “Krish is doing fine. But I would advise you to let him stay here for a few days. When he is discharged, give him mild food and keep him indoors for a while.”
Everyone together said, “Okay.”
Then Akshay asked, “Can we go see him?”
“Yes, sure,” the doctor said.
The three went inside and found Krish lying there with his eyes open, his head fully covered in bandages. Akshay ran to his side and asked what had exactly happened.
Krish began, “I was riding back from my office when someone suddenly crossed the traffic lights and hit me at the corner. It was the front part of the vehicle that hit me, and then suddenly everything went black. I don’t know what happened next. I don’t remember.”
Akshay nodded and then went outside.
After a few days, Krish was discharged. But no one saw Akshay in the hospital that day. In fact, no one saw him the entire day. Krish thought he might be at a fan fest.
But when Akshay came back, he had a box of sweets in his hands and said, “You told me that a person broke the traffic rules and crossed the lights, right?”
“Yeah,” Krish said, still confused.
Akshay continued, “So I sued the person. He is in jail.”
“That’s wonderful!” Krish said.
“Have some sweets,” Akshay offered.
Everyone had a bite.
That evening, Krish said he wanted to go for a stroll. So Akshay and Krish went to the garden. They were having a nice time walking when a strange-looking priest came towards them and asked, “Who is Krish here?”
Krish raised his hand. “I am.”
“Ah, boy, I better warn you. You are in grave danger. You see that tree over there? It represents your life. The number of leaves on that tree represents the number of days you will live.”
This shocked Krish, because the tree barely had a hundred leaves. He went home shaken.
Akshay followed him and asked, “Do you really believe this guy?”
“Yeah,” Krish replied, then left.
Akshay did not see his friend the whole afternoon after that incident.
A few months went by, and many leaves had fallen from the tree. This made Krish very anxious, but the doctor had advised him not to put pressure on his brain. Akshay worried that Krish might fall sick again.
So one night, while everyone was asleep, Akshay took his paints and canvas and went to that tree. He painted for hours and hours.
It was raining heavily, and Akshay even caught a cold, but he was persistent to help his friend.
By the time the sun was rising, Akshay had finished his painting. He had painted the tree full of leaves. Then he went back home to sleep.
The next morning, Krish was really happy to see not just 50 leaves but thousands of them. Of course, he did not know his friend had done all this for him. But seeing his friend happy made Akshay happy too.
Unfortunately, because of the harsh conditions during the night, Akshay fell ill, slipped into a coma, and soon passed away in the hospital.
Only Krish knew what had happened that night, because the security guard of their apartment had seen Akshay painting.
Krish was truly grateful to his friend and promised never to forget him.
Moral: True friendship is priceless.
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