The Night

Little Ada sat on her chair in the corner of her room..the clock ticked 12 and she started hurriedly flipping the pages of her history book...the flipping was in tandem with the revolutions of the recently repaired fan in her room..she looked up at it and heaved a sigh of relief..the torturous days with the noisy fan were finally over...She got back to her book..She liked History and wanted to do really well in the exam she was preparing for..her mother had promised her the pink pair of sandals which she had been eyeing for a long time, if she stood first in her Std 5 exams.

Understanding the importance of getting enough sleep the night before the exam, she closed her book and switched off the lights. As she lay in bed, she recalled what her father always told her.."Ada, you must always revise everything wen you go to sleep. Think about the questions that will come and how you will face them. " She started going through what she had studied in sequence..in her mind..

"When was the First Battle of Panipat fought? Ohh yes! I know this! It was in 1526..yes..OR..was it 1525..NO NO...Ohh GOD! " The liitle girl was vexed..She had studied it so well..how could she have forgotten..After trying for a long time and still being unsure, she leapt out of bed..switched on the light..and ran to her desk..

While she was hurrying through the pages, she heard a THUD behind her back..a loud cracking noise followed and she turned around in shock and fright. What she saw startled her and she almost fainted in shock..the repaired fan had left the hook and landed exactly where her head had been a few seconds ago...Her parents rushed into the room..the noise was loud enough to wake up the entire household...

Her mother hugged her..they were all tormented but nobody could believe what a narrow escape it had been for her..A second here and a second there would have made all the difference in their lives...the bed was now broken in pieces..Ada went to sleep with her parents.. Every time she shut her eyes to sleep, she imagined the fan falling down on her face and got up scared and sweating..her mother pacified her...And explained to her that God's will can never be challenged.

She said her prayers..It was the right time to do so...She thanked god for having saved her..and for the first time in her life..she was happy that her memory had betrayed her...Had it not been for the Battle of Panipat...