My lucky magic 8 ball

How many of you have played with a magic 8 ball.. you know, the big black snooker ball with the space where the number should befrom wherein different answers pop out. The idea is, you ask the ball a question ( There's really no way to write that without it sounding 'weird' ) , shake the ball and the answer appears..
Back in my internship days, Vj "DonBoy" Shelly had brought a magic 8 ball into the hospital and pretty soon, everyone was engrossed in checking their luck, be it the fellow interns, the gullible nurses and even quite s few senior professors, if I recall properly ( medicine shmedicine.. Lucky 8 ball, should I start my patient on penicillin ? Not in this lifetime )

The questions would range from pure fantasy ( Will she fall in love with me ? Try again after 6 months ) to funny ( Will Argentina win the next world Cup ? You betcha ) to really emotional ones ( Will our marriage be a success ? It's hard to say ). Of course, there was always the "You didn't shake it right, do it again" response if the answers didn't favour the concerned dude / dudette. Me ? Well, as is the case with most inanimate spooky objects, this one too took an instant dislike to me, eagerly awaiting my arrival and setting me up by giving the guys before me lotsa happy answers ( Will I win the lottery ? You betcha ) before using me as it's punching bag ( Will I clear the exams ? Not a chance Ok, will I atleast get the girl of my dreams ? Not a chance .. Oh, so you're gonna be all negative on me, huh ? Well then, magic ball, the chances of me being a success in life are pretty much nil, huh ? You betcha ) Sigh... I hated that Afro- American 8 ball. I guess the feelings were mutual, huh ?

I guess it didn't affect me as much as it did others though.. I'm not gonna deride them saying " oh, silly fools, falling for the words of a silly toy. I guess hearing bad news about something you dream about can sting anyone. The number of times I've seen nurses who were crestfallen after that damn ball spelt doom for their marriages.. My ego though was iron clad and sky high. I was the king of the world. I could do no wrong in my mind and no silly ball could affect me with it's eerie predictions of impending doom.

2 years have past since I last laid eyes on that magic 8 ball. I was on my return trip back when I stepped into the airport bookstore. I was just thumbing through ( reading fervently ) some books on the display shelf when I came across a book I didn't know had been published. It was the follow up to the old Richard Bach classic "Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah" titled "The Messiah's Handbook".
In the earlier novel, the Messiah's handbook had played a vital role, granting the Messiah Shimoda with 'the keys to the universe' as the author watched on. Yet, in the end, it was a disillusioned narrator who watched his friend and messiah die a senseless death, and in anger at the Handbook's 'response' had thrown it into the fields in disgust. Now, the book had returned.

The book that had once contained words of advice for the world,but which had also cruelly betrayed him. He wondered if it too had evolved in the two decades that had passed.

Bach gives us a word of advice before reading the rest.. Think of a question in your heart. Then open the book randomly at any page.. you will find your answer.

I scoffed.. I may even have 'smiled out loud' .. I do that a lot, incidentally. It usually attracts the close circuit camera guys in these kinda stores, with those security camera guys all going " Suspicious activity detected.. bears watching. " It's probably a good thing they don't have stun guns here.. I'd have a lot of tummy burn marks,I'm guessing. Anyway, I decided I'd give the book a chance to prove itself. I closed my eyes, pondered a few seconds and asked

"All my life I've cared for people who meant a lot to me and looked to go the extra mile to show I loved them. I always believed that was the one one should express oneself. Yet today, I find myself alone in a crowd, looking at my phonebook and not having anyone to call while I await my flight. Was my concept of love and affection wrong all along ?"

I opened the book randomly.

"The only thing that matters at the end of the stay on Earth is ,

how well did you love ? what was the quality of your love ?"

I stood frozen for a good 4 seconds ( an eternity when you're bookbrowsing in a crowded store with a luggagebag on your shoulder ). Ok, that was scary, I told myself. Talk about your flukes. Still, I admit,my feathers were "mildly ruffled" I decided to try it again..

"Ok. I know I ain't the ideal human being and all that. And sure, perhaps I chose to show respect for the big guy..God, differently. But I still feel I didn't deserve the pain and suffering which I got.. I mean, worse a- holes than me were definitely on this planet. So how come I got screwed so bad, eh ?"

I opened the book.

"You build the appearances around you.

You get exactly what you deserve.

Who's to blame, who's to credit, but you ?

Who can change it, any time you wish.. but you ? "

As I sat in the plane an hour later, I wondered about how true the sentences were.. about how we create our own destiny.. how it all lies in our own hands, in the end. The sooner we stop whining and get back up, the sooner we're ready to keep moving forward. What seemed unsurmountable peaks not so long ago, now seemed delicious challenges to face. Of course, the road ahead would not be easy. It never is. There will be more tough decisions, more moments of self doubt and frustrations, more failures to come.. but I couldn't help thinking that perhaps my life had become a slightly easier place to live in.. especially now that I had my own magic 8 ball, tucked away safely in my bag to guide me whenever I'm in doubt..