Arrogance that changed me.....

 Echoes Across Years

Fourteen years ago,

During an NSS camp,

I stood by a wall—

Barely half my height—

Curious to see

What lay on the other side.

Innocently, I looked.

A senior came,

Her voice sharp, mocking—

“Are you enjoying the scenery?”

There was ruin in her tone.

I felt a sting,

Yet answered softly, “Yes.”

That single word

Lit a fire in her.

Abusive words

Spat across my face,

Her anger spilling over—

Endless, merciless.

Through the days that followed,

She chose me as her target.

No peace, no refuge—

Every joy I held

Was slowly taken away.

Years have passed.

I never saw her again

After my second year of graduation.

Yet even now,

I cannot pardon her.

Her words still echo—

Uninvited,

Unforgotten.

Today,

I stand in another place—

An office,

Another ordinary moment.

I was only searching,

Looking for someone to ask,

When a voice cut through—

A man appeared,

Bald, abrupt,

Arrogance wrapped in authority—

“What are you peeping at?”

—“എന്താ എത്തി നോക്കുന്നേ?”

And he continued…

The words—

So familiar,

So cruel in their echo.

What was there to “peep”?

No wonder, no beauty—

Only walls,

And people hardened by them.

Yet again,

My curiosity became a crime.

His voice lingers now,

Like a wound reopened—

Old scars breathing again.

I feel the anger rise,

Questions burning in my throat,

A storm I swallow in silence.

But this time—

I am not that child.

I carry the memory,

Yes—

But also the strength

To outgrow their smallness.

And maybe one day,

Not with anger,

But with dignity—

I will answer them all.