Page 186 - Demo

186 THE CLARENCIAN 2024-2025From that day, I started ignoring her completely and she did the same. We looked at each other with disgust and walked past like we were complete strangers. It hurt a lot. I convinced myself that she was the reason for my unhappiness. I hated her more with each passing day.A month of ignoring and despising each other went by. I hated her and knew that she felt the same way about me. One day, I had to stay back after classes to clear some doubts. My younger brother, who was in second grade, and I usually walked back home together. I knew I should have informed him that I would be late, but being too lazy to make the effort, I didn%u2019t. I finished speaking to my teacher and made my way out of the school through the main gate.Suddenly, I froze. My blood went cold. I felt dizzy. Right there, in front of me, was my little brother standing on the road, oblivious to what was happening. Time slowed; the world blurred around me. I could see everything unfold in slow motion. I wanted to scream at him to move, but no sound came out. I didn%u2019t know what to do. A car came speeding towards him.All of a sudden, I saw someone running towards my brother. They pulled him away in the nick of time. He had been centimetres away from the speeding car. I looked to see who it was that had saved my brother and it was none other than Samantha! The girl I hated had just proven to be an angel in my life. I was too shocked to speak. I ran towards them and hugged my brother. I looked up at Samantha and mouthed a silent %u201cthank you.%u201d She smiled in reply. That smile made me forget everything that had happened between us. That smile made me realise and believe that true kindness does exist. If she had not been there, I would have lost my brother. She was the only reason he was alive. I thought about it. Why did she save him? She could have been hurt. Why did she put her life at risk?In our world, there are very few people who think of others before themselves. Finding such people is a blessing, but being one of them is an honour. How long would it take to say %u201cthank you%u201d to the canteen staff or to give them a small compliment? For you, it%u2019s just a few seconds, but for them, it might make their entire day. Be the reason they smile. How hard is it to spend a few minutes talking to someone who is sitting alone? How hard is it to visit the underprivileged and bring a little happiness into their lives?We, the next generation, must act to make this world a kinder place. Just a little bit of selflessness can make a huge difference in someone%u2019s life. Be someone%u2019s Samantha. After all, it%u2019s all about kindness! A word which is easy to say and hard to find, but not impossible to spread.Shayma MashiaClass 10B