The Space Between Two Stars
International School of Nanshan Shenzhen , Nair , Akhil - 16
I t ’ s funny how the world works , the loneliest man on the loneliest road . Until yesterday , Robert had everything he could dream of , a loving wife , an adorable daughter , a mansion , a multimillion company , etc . He had a car for each day of the week , never had to worry about forgetting the time as he had a collection of the most expensive watches ever produced , and was put into consideration for being awarded “ The Person Of The Year ”. Almost everything that he had was not anything to him after what happened the day before . The events that occurred in a six hour span was what caused Robert to be in a red 1967 Cadillac convertible , cruising down highway 50 at 120km / h at nighttime .
Robert ’ s favourite song , “ Hey Jude ” just started playing . He had just finished his favourite meal of all time , a double cheeseburger . He was driving down a road he always liked , in a car that he always liked , joining him was a whole album of songs by a band that he always liked . Robert wanted this day to be only about him , nothing from his past should pop up and ruin the amazing day he has been having . As the song was getting near to it ’ s chorus , Robert began singing along , “ then you begin to make it better , and any time you feel the pain , hey Jude , refrain , don ' t carry the world upon your shoul- . Everything came back to him ; he remembered what the worst day of his life was like . Robert couldn ’ t fight back his tears and they started leaking .
1 minute into the events that changed Robert ’ s life . Robert was zooming past cars in his brand new Lamborghini Centenerio . He got his favourite number 13 as his car ’ s registration number . As the Centenerio swiftly drove past a cemetery , without a smile on his face , Robert smelled the interior of his new car . Robert waited a whole year to get the car he paid near $ 2 million for , yet he didn ’ t seem excited . Betrayal . That ’ s the one word that kept popping up in his head . His best friend , Tina , stabbed him in the back . Robert didn ’ t know what Tina did , but she somehow persuaded the board of directors and now he lost the company he started from rags . He was so infuriated that he accidentally punched and destroyed his Centenerio ’ s right side mirror .
30 minutes into the events that changed Robert ’ s life . His wife , Tia , probably heard his car ’ s engine since she opened the door right as Robert got out of the Centenerio . “ Wow . Honey , I think I might have competition , the new car looks amazing ” Tia joked . Robert didn ’ t laugh and simply kissed his wife . Tia noticed that her husband ’ s usual funny personality was missing and asked him “ honey , is everything alright ”? Robert didn ’ t give a reply and Tia asked him once more “ Robert , was everything alright at work ”? Robert decided it was best to lie to his wife right now and replied “ yeah , everything was fine ”. Tia believed her husband and told him with a frown “ I think Mira didn ’ t get a good grade on her project , she seemed unusually dull after coming from school . Honey , even if she didn ’ t get a good grade , still do take her out to get her a new doll like promised ”. With the problem he had , Robert forgot that he promised to buy his daughter , Mira a doll if she got an A on her science project . Robert was going to buy her a doll even if she had gotten an e , however Robert was now in conflict as he did not really want to do anything and just wanted some alone time .
45 minutes into the events that changed Robert ’ s life . Robert knew that he would never want to disappoint his daughter and took her to Toys “ R ” Us . Apparently Mira got a C on her project and was dull about it . Robert wasn ’ t feeling any bright either as the duo had a quiet ride to the store .
1 hour into the events that changed Robert ’ s life . “ It ’ s alright Mira , I will never be disappointed in you . We all have to deal with problems in our life . Getting an okay grade on a science project is perfectly alright . My average grade when I was in grade 4 was a C , and look at me now I have enough money to buy my little girl all the toys in this store . Mira , as one of the lines from my favourite song says , don ’ t carry the world upon your shoulder ” Robert said as he comforted his crying daughter . He knew that no matter what happens , his daughter , who always greeted him with her bright smile every evening by the door doesn ’ t deserve to cry ; no matter how bad a day he had , he should always be Mira ’ s “ awesome ” daddy . Mira slowly stopped crying and gave Robert a big hug “ I love you daddy ”. Robert finally had a smile on his face and told his daughter that he loved her too . To Robert ’ s surprise , Mira then asked him “ Can we really buy all the toys in this store then ”? Robert couldn ’ t contain himself and laughed as hard as he can .