A Leap of Faith

A wise man once told me, when you have to take the leap, it's not the distance, it's not strength, it's not the flight; it's the conviction, it's the will, it's the run-up that you take that matters.

Looking back, there are a lot of things that had prepared me for this very moment. The bully who pushed me and called me a loser, the teacher who ignored me each time, the friends that never knew I existed, the calming reassurance of mom, the uplifting words of brother, the point of transition when I decided to make something of myself and prove all the non-believers wrong.

If all of them could just stand behind me, watching as I was asked to head the sales division at Rupert International.

Sitting there, looking back, the words just spoken by the HR executive here seemed almost as a pause in time. "We like your potential, and would want to you join as the Sales manager at our Mumbai division"

How long had I waited for all this to happen. I knew I would get there some day. Start my journey along the long, winding road to success. It almost felt like destiny.

"The job requires you to be on the move constantly. Meeting with our clients in various cities, generating leads and maintaining relations. Looking at your score on the previous rounds, we don't see how that would be any of a problem for you"

I always dreamt of this moment when everything I had ever worked for finally fell into place.

When everything finally made sense.

That's when the dream ended.

It did make sense. I am not supposed to be sitting here. I was in love.

The only girl I had ever loved, the one person that made me forget about all the perils of my life. The girl that made me believe in myself, in my potential, in my destiny. She was out there, waiting for me.

"So Mr. Aman, is there anything you want to ask us?"

I looked up to meet his gaze, hadn't realized I had drifted off and had been staring at the glass of water in front of me.

I licked my lips and said, "I don't think I am the best person for this job. I am sorry"

There was a quick exchange of frowns, he said, "Is there some problem with the profile?"

I didn't lie, "No, it's not the profile, everything is good, just that I have to work out some things in my life and until I do that I can't possibly go around the country on sales calls"

He leaned in and rested his elbows on the table, "Could you enlighten us about the nature of these things that you want to do?"

I liked this guy, he had a way of putting things out there in a straight way, I decided to dish it out the same way, smiling, "I gotta see about a girl, have to ask her to marry me, and you see, when I get married, I can't possibly go around the country hunting."

As I left the office where the interview had been conducted, the thought came back to me, a wise man had once said to me, when you have to take the leap, don't think. Cause if you think, you can't jump, just take a deep breath and run.

A leap of faith.

I was happy, everything made sense. I went near the window, the tender breeze played with the leaves outside, almost to a rhythm. A dry one swept with the wind from the tree, and floating around, slowly, gently, as though being cradled. It kept going down, further to the ground.

My cell rang. I reached into my pocket and took it out. If this is not destiny, then I don't know what is. It was her. Ayesha. The love of my life.

"Hey, girl, how are you?"

She seemed eager, "I am good. And you?"

"Can't be better. In fact, I was just thinki...."

"I just got an offer, from Gregory House Corporation"

"That's great honey, wow, this is amazing"

"Yeah, I am really exited, it's a great job"

"You deserve it"

"And you know the best thing its set in the U.S., isn't that great?"

A leap of faith, the wise man said, don't think, he said, just jump.

On the other end, the silence caught on to Ayesha, "Aman, are you there?"

"Yeah, I am, it's just a little sudden that's all, but this is good, I am happy for you. Proud of you"

"I knew you would be"

"When would you have to leave?"

"Aman, Thank you for everything, I couldn't have done this without you. I will always remember you as my best friend. Thank you"

"When would you be leaving?"

"In a month. Didn't you have some interview today? How'd it go?"

"Didn't get it, they said I am not good enough"

"That's not true, you'll get through, soon, hang in there, gotta go now, bye, love you"

The dry leaf I had been watching was lying on the ground, crumpled.

I looked at my phone; it said "Call ended. Last call 00:08:49"

Nine minutes is all it took.

A voice behind me called my name, it was a woman. She said the HR executives wanted to see me again.

A leap of faith? A wise man said....