‘ It ’ s alright . Your reaction is justified . Yes , I am a kid and I made all those kites .’ He replied and moved towards a heap enveloped with a white cotton cloth . With a swift jerk of his tiny hands he uncovered what was lying under the massive white fabric - There they were . The Kites . Red , yellow , pink , blue - kites of all colors with their silver hologram reflecting rays of sun proudly upon the looker ’ s eyes . Shrey was stunned . He moved closer towards the heap and bent down on his knees .
‘ But how ….’ Shrey stammered , ‘ how di-did you do all off t-that ?’ he held out his hands and spread his fingers to touch the kites . ‘ I found a secret technique ’ the kid pronounced evenly through his mask . Shrey picked up one of the red kites and touched the silver shining hologram . It was authentic . ‘ I don ’ t know what to say ’ Shrey murmured . ‘ I know what you want to ask ’ the kid uttered as he sat on the floor and crossed his legs . Shrey mirrored his actions and sat down in front of him .
‘ Do you mind if I take a picture ?’ Shrey blurted suddenly and took the camera off his neck . ‘ Sure . Why else do you think I ’ m wearing this .’ that kids little finger pointed to his mask . Shrey took two pictures and already saw his editor ’ s skepticism over the entire story . ‘ You forgot your question ’ The kid spoke calmly , ‘ You didn ’ t ask about my secret technique ?’. As soon as Shrey turned off his camera , the kid raised his hands , unfastened the knots on his head , and pulled off the mask . A radiating face with a pair of mystifying dark brown eyes was now facing Shrey with a gentle smile .
Shrey ’ s eyes widened and a glint of smile formed on his face as he nodded ‘ Do you know what ’ s my personal favorite amongst everything ?’ the kid looked at the heap of kites and declared , ‘ It ’ s the stickers . You know why ? Because it is the only thing I created on my own . The paper used in the kites is brought from a local shopkeeper , so is the thread roll .’ he confessed , naively . ‘ But ... how is that possible . I flew one of your kites myself and I ’ ve always been bad at it . But the moment I took your kite in the air , it was like I was gliding in the air and not the kite . For a moment , it seemed like I was waltzing with the winds .’ Shrey admitted eagerly .
‘ You see . This is what it ’ s all about . People believe that something is special because they are told so . None of the person who flew it thought that maybe it was not the kite that was special but them , the person flying it . They believed in the power of a nonliving substance more than they believed in
themselves . I only gave them an ordinary kite , telling that it was special and they believed . This was what turned an amateur into a decent flyer , and expert into a professional . This is the power of belief . So , I only gave them what they wanted and in turn , they gave the credit of their abilities to a tangible substance .’ the kid finished with a wash of dismay over his face .
Shrey ’ s facial muscles relaxed and he looked out at the open sky . ‘ If you don ’ t mind , can I ask another question ?’ Shrey asked composedly , ‘ Aren ’ t you too young for this sort of wisdom ?’ ‘ Maybe I ’ m a sorcerer , like most of them claim .’ the kid burst out into fits of laughter and shrey couldn ’ t help but follow along . ‘ So are you going to write all this in your column ?’ he asked .
‘ I don ’ t know . Maybe . Let ’ s fly a kite together and I ’ ll decide over it .’ Shrey picked a black kite and stood up . The Kite Runner smiled and nodded .
Swati Rawat swati @ chiiz . com
A regular 24 year old stranger only with untamable curls battling existential crisis every waking hour . When I ’ m not working or sleeping or eating , I write to make sense out of my cluttered thoughts .
Prateek Kashyap New Delhi , India
Coloring The Skies Canon EOS 60D 20mm F / 6.3 1 / 125s ISO200