The agony and the ecstacy

By: Abdool A. Aziz

GROWING up, he always had an interest in girls. He regarded them as roses, but he was a macho guy. So at 13, he met a school girl while visiting her school and was smitten. ‘Puppy Love’ was in the air. He got up past midnight and tore out the middle page of his exercise book and penned her a love letter. Though his eyes burned from the smoke of the bottle lamp, he wrote as his heart fluttered in joy.

The next day, he took his pocket money and posted the letter to his beloved Juliet at her school three miles away.In less than a week, the letter returned. Not to him but his headmaster. The agony begun. This Principal was never married. A chauvinist, he viewed the love letter with scorn. The boy was dragged to the stage and in front of the entire school, the crony read the letter aloud.   In rage, he snapped: “Look at the wicked fellow. He wrote this love letter to an innocent teenager. For that I’ll bench him. You want to hear the words of the despicable letter?” The whole school in unison said “Yes!” In disgust the headmaster read: “Hello my loving, darling, sweetheart, honey bunch. I love you. You are so sweet, like an angel…”

He stopped, wore a sour face and said “Put him to shame!” The Assembly laughed to scorn. “Bring him and drop his pants, get me the leather!”

The weapon was hidden in a teacher’s bag. Having heard of the benching, she felt it was too much punishment for a simple misdemeanor. The headmaster was cruel, he believed in the rod. Most of the boys who were pulled on to the stage and whipped, either fainted, wet their pants or bled. But this lover boy would not subject himself to pain. He fought off his restrainers and bolted out the school, never to return.

He summoned some courage to break the incident to his father who was in management of the school. His dad marched to the school and confronted the merciless head. He was told to abandon the benching and treat the kids more humanely. If not, he will face a transfer, he reluctantly complied. The student was sent to a secondary school. Juliet attended that very school and the ‘puppy love’ blossomed into a mature relationship. Four years later they got married.Among the many guests at the blissful ceremony were the two headmasters. Juliet’s HM was divorced, lost his wife from selfish behaviour.

His HM hated women, and he came for the food. They were not happy to see their nefarious act brought so much joy to a young couple. As the presents were being received, his HM gave the letter to the bride. Just then, an alumnus came up and said, “Hello loving darling, sweet-heart, honey bunch.”  The groom got irritated. That nick-name stuck with him for life and he hated it.  The bride said, “Why he said that, why are you so upset?” He didn’t answer. He looked at his HM, he set it up – that devil.                                                                                                                                                                               Then the bride reached for the letter. She laughed aloud “This letter was for me?” She asked with joy. The groom said, “Yes my love, also I am for you in reality.” I lifted my soulmate and took her over the thresh hold and we lived happily thereafter. The two cronies went away feeling ashamed. A simple love letter. Much ado about nothing. Is it a crime to love? Doesn’t love conquer all? Let the bud of your ecstatic feelings blossom into a flower of internal joy. Travel down the star studded avenue of a blessed union.  I transformed those flattering words to sweet embrace.