Bachpan
The one part of you that truly believed in you.
Childhood is the most profound chapter of your life — a time when a little bundle of joy saw you as capable of achieving anything. It was a version of yourself that understood you without judgment, brimming with potential, curiosity, and wonder.
Then adulthood arrives, mercilessly extinguishing that innocence. It chokes the joy out of childhood, silencing it with the weight of expectations and conformity. The adult version of you, the “murderer” of that childlike spirit, dives into the relentless race of life — a race with no finish line, where everyone is running for reasons they don’t fully understand. At first, this murderer revels in being part of it, proud to keep up with the endless sprint.
But slowly, realization dawns: the race is hollow. It’s monotonous, unfulfilling, and devoid of the magic that once made life vibrant. Yet, by the time this truth sinks in, it’s often too late.
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Now, surrounded by others running the same futile race, you’ve set a precedent with how well you perform. You’ve become a machine — a robot programmed to meet expectations, terrified of letting others down. This robotic version of you begins to miss the child it silenced. It longs to revive that spark, that innocence. But fear holds you back. You’re too scared to let your inner child reemerge, worried it won’t survive in this cutthroat, mechanical world.
One day, weary of the monotony, you take a break. You escape to a far-off place, away from responsibilities, people, and judgment — a place where you’re free to be yourself. Here, in this solitude, you sense the freedom to let your inner child resurface.
As you wrestle with the decision, someone unexpected appears.
A friend.
A companion.
Your childhood…
And suddenly, you understand. Life’s drama, its repetitive stories — they all boil down to one big:
Written by RISHI PENMETSA
