Ayan had now moved on to college.
Past the boundaries of school lay a whole new world. New friends, new freedom, new dreams.
In place of that small school field, a much bigger world now stood before him.
Some days he was overjoyed. Other days, the smallest failure was enough to bring his mood crashing down.
One day, college exam results were announced.
Ayan had thought he would do well.
But when the results came into his hands, his face fell.
The marks were far below what he had expected.
Some of his friends had done very well. A couple had even won scholarships.
Ayan sat quietly on the college veranda.
His friend Rahul came and sat beside him.
— “What happened?”
Ayan said, — “I don't think I'll ever amount to anything.”
Rahul laughed and said, — “One exam result doesn't decide a whole life.”
Ayan gave no reply.
Back home that day, his mood only sank further.
Sensing this, his father said, — “Failure has come — fine. But don't sit around dwelling on it. Push past it and move forward.”
The words stayed with Ayan.
A few days later, a competition was held at college. Ayan took part.
Unbelievably, he came first.
The same boy who, only days earlier, had thought he'd never amount to anything, stood on the stage that day and took home the prize.
His friends applauded.
Ayan smiled too.
But on his way home, it occurred to him — where had that sorrow from a few days ago gone?
The sadness that had once felt like the biggest problem in the world was simply no longer there.
That day, for the first time, he understood — neither joy lasts forever, nor does sorrow.
Good times will come in life, and so will bad ones.
But time itself never stops. It keeps moving forward.
In his final year of college, Ayan decided to start preparing for a job.
Many paths lay ahead of him now.
Some said try for a government job. Others said private jobs were better. Some suggested starting a business.
Ayan found himself thinking about everything at once.
One day Rahul said, — “Make a decision. Try to do everything at once, and nothing gets done properly.”
Ayan understood then that one of the hardest tasks in life is deciding which path deserves your time.
He chose a goal.
He failed the first exam. And the second. And the third.
Each time, it felt like — this will never happen.
But this time, he didn't give up the way the old Ayan once would have.
This time, he saw failure as a result, not as an identity.
Each time, he wrote down his mistakes. Found where he had fallen short. Then prepared again.
A few months later, he did well in an exam.
He still hadn't landed a job — but his confidence had returned.
He understood — joy and sorrow, victory and defeat, all come and go in life.
But one thing moves on in silence — time.
Time passes during failure too. Time passes during success too.
Whether we weep or laugh — the hands of the clock walk their own path regardless.
That night, Ayan stood by the window for a long while, gazing outside.
It felt to him as though every moment of life was drifting away on a river's current.
Some moments joyful. Some sorrowful. Some proud. Some full of regret.
But not a single moment ever comes back.
Ayan did not yet know that a time was coming in his life when he would have to settle accounts — not only with failure, but with his own past.