God's Favourite Atheist

I am a responsible kid. This responsible kid gets her admit card printed out 3 days before her exam, has inquired about bus timings, checked her pens and is ready to not miss out on any other front apart from the actual preparation. 

I just had my exam scheduled today 50 kms away from my home. I planned on taking a bus journey to my centre. I have been giving so many exams lately that the basic drill, checklist, exam uniform, food intake everything is rehearsed and naturalised. I do not have to check which pen to take because I have a separate exam pouch with exam appropriate pens. I do not have to choose what to wear, like Zuckerberg I have the same exam uniform. It's basically eat, get ready and leave with my mother's best wishes.

I read a tweet few days ago, that the user feared most who brought only one black pen and first page of admit card in black and white and not the one with 3-4 pages of colourful admit card with 4-5 pens. In my head, it made sense. I also usually carried first page of admit card in black and white but with an addition of 2 extra photocopies of it. In order to promote myself to extra legendary category of exam givers, I decided to abandon the practice of getting extra photocopies. Just got the first page printed out and saved 2 rupees.

I went to my usual cyber cafe of whom I am a loyal customer from nearly a year. He printed my admit card and we discussed about the centre. I also filled an online application form of other exam and he printed out its confirmation page. In my head, I was supposed to carry only one page ie. my admit card but voila I mistook the confirmation page as admit card and took it with me without checking.

I had 2 days left from my exam, I didn't cross check even once if that page was indeed my admit card. Fast forward to today morning, I opened my admit card my heart sank, my mind froze, I lost ground. What the actual fuck just happened. I have to leave the house in 10 minutes to catch a bus, it is sunday, also it's 6 fucking AM in the morning. What am I supposed to do? Get un-ready and go back to sleep?

Somehow I told my mother with a calm voice, she panicked a little and called someone known who might have a printer. Ohh yes, we have a printer but not in working condition since a year. I thought of what harm can this do? Harm was me not giving this exam. Suddenly, there was no panic and all calm like okay, maybe this wasn't meant to be. Not that I was primarily preparing for this, not giving this particular exam won't hurt that much. Then there was peace and I decided to bet. 

I betted on kindness and goodness of people. This was second incident where I bet on my goodness. When things go downhill for me, I say if I am a good person, good will happen to me. Surprisingly or unsurprisingly this has worked twice. 

First incidence was when I forgot to fill my application form for an exam and got reminded of it on the last day. On last days, every application form site just crashes. My cyber cafe guy gave up on it, but not me. I told him that if I am a good person, I'll be able to fill my form today. The site didn't work, I cried, felt loneliest, miserable and everything bad. But voila, application date got extended and I filled that form on that day itself. Miracle? Manifestation? Belief? Karma? God's plan? Don't know, honestly!

Today also after placing my bet, I secured back my lost calm and mental consciousness. I thought that in all probability, the bus station might have a printer. I left my home, went to bus station, asked in the inquiry room. Inquiry rooms generally have the rudest uncles in my experience but not the uncle I found today. He sensed the tension in my face, understood the gravity of the situation and decided to help. His room didn't have a printer, but he informed me his seniors chamber that has a printer. 

After taking directions of the chamber and saying thank-you, I went inside. There were two uncles sitting inside doing their routine work. I explained my condition and asked them for help, never did I expect them to talk this sweetly, they understood my problem and said bacchi ka admit card nahi nikla hai. They had the computer connected to the printer but didn't know how to operate but on my and other customers persuasion, they agreed. 

I took out the print-out and thanked them half a dozen times. I could rarely believe on what just happened, my mother was also in disbelief on hearing the story. Eventually I took the bus and reached my centre before time.

At the centre, I found a junior of mine who came with her parents. She offered me to join them on our way back. I didn't plan for this, I planned for bus. I planned to get my admit card printed from the cyber cafe and not from a bus station's office chamber. This my reader, taught me that, sometimes our plannings fail, but there is supposedly no failure in the bigger plan. 

I sign-off today with a relief that everything, however insane it seems today, will eventually workout, in a way I never planned or imagined, because, I am the God's favourite Atheist. This isn't something I didn't know already but today this feels real. Sana, continue doing good because good returns in unpredictable forms.