Page 27 - FATE & DESTINY

FATE & DESTINY

I tiptoed away, straight for the classroom.
In the afternoon, Ata Karma Dorji, a defender of A-Team, said, “Congrats, Jr.! You are selected for the B-
Team.”
I nodded. “Yes, Ata. Cheytu told me that, but I quit.”
“Why?”
“I want to quit.”
“You can’t be serious, are you?”
“I mean it,” I said. “I am not a good player.”
“You are a good goalie. You can’t quit.”
“I don’t think so. Everybody blames and makes fun of it.”
“Don’t get dissuaded,” he said in a firm tone. “People will blame and make fun, but you shouldn’t mind them.”
“Anyway, thanks for the information, Ata,” I said. “I should check it out myself again.”
“Please do.”
I shuffled to the notice board and read the players’ name list. “Players must be on the ground after school?”
After the school was over, the selected players rushed to the ground. I traipsed after them and stood at the back.
Coach opened his yellow file and read out the names. “Well, everyone knows your position, don’t you?”
“Yes, sir,” we said in unison.
“Good.” He scanned the faces of all the players. “Who is Dorji Wangdi?”
I raised my hand. “It’s me, Coach.”
“You will be a substitute goalie, okay?”
“Okay, Coach.”
“And,” he switched his eyes to others, “we will start the training tomorrow.”
“Yes, Coach.”
“Everyone must be on the ground right after school. If you cannot report on time, I will replace you.”
Face beaming with excitement, we said in unison, “Okay, Coach!”

***

Dad had rented me a dingy one-room apartment on the ground floor. Five rooms stood in a row. Mine was on
the third. Jiku occupied the adjacent room, and his elder brother, Bolu, occupied the last room. The two brothers
were not on terms.
One night, Jiku came late to his room with a drunk friend. They shouted and banged the table. I could stand it
no more.
“Stop it, please!” I said.
“What the hell!” grunted Jiku.
“Mind your own business,” said the drunk guy. “You son of a bitch.”
“What did you say?” I blurted. “Who are you, junkie?”
“Jigwang, Why?”
“Jigwang? Oh, go to sleep, please!”
“Drat, you really wanna fight me? Come out!”
My heart thumped as he was bulbous and robust. I dug my head into the pillow. “I won’t fight you.”
“Come out, knucklehead!”
“Go beat the living daylight out of him,” Jiku whispered. “Don’t leave him.”
The door creaked, and Jigwang gave a hard knock on my door. “Come out!”
“Go to sleep, buddy. I want no trouble.”
“Come out, man!”
The door reverberated as he knocked on it harder.
“You sure you wanna fight me?” I said, sitting up.
“Yeah, coward. Come out.”
I unbuckled my belt, jumped out of bed, opened the door, and bumped into him. He bumped into me. We
bumped into each other so hard that we fell apart far. And we grasped each other’s neck. I choked. So, I slipped my
right leg between his legs and shoved him. He fell on his back. I scrambled onto his chest and raised my fist, but Ata
Bolu shoved me.
Jigwang ran into me. “You, bitch!”
“Stop it, Jigwang,” said Bolu, seizing his both hands.
“No,” said Jigwang. He slipped away from Bolu’s hand and knocked into me. I exercised all my strength and
bore him far against the bulwark. And we wrestled into Jiku’s room and out and broke into the bulwarks.

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