Only those who have to entertain two pieces of glasses firmly balanced on their nose for 24/7 will sympathise with me. Yes I am talking about the breed of people who are bespectacled. At one point of their lives or other, these people have been mocked for wearing spectacles, been called names, made fun of and there has been a moment in their lives when they’ve wished to be free of their spectacles.

Therefore it’s no surprise that many of these people get their spectacles replaced with contacts. However, children don’t always have that option. Thus they are stuck with the task of carrying an extra ornament on their faces.

I remember I used to pretend that I forgot my spectacles in order to avoid wearing them, and when it started happening quite often, my teacher made sure that my parents came to know about it. Adding to my misery, my mother ensured that my spectacles would hang around my neck safely secured with a black thread. It was embarrassing.

So the days passed by and I reluctantly wore them in order to aid my vision. I wouldn’t lie, of course it helped. But I was no longer seen as a cool kid. But then came an interesting day, a day etched in my memory. It was the day when I lost my glasses.

It was another regular school day with double math and double science periods, not that I minded those but just to make a point of how ordinary the day was before turning extraordinary.

As usual I sat in the morning class wearing my spectacles, the question on the board was quite confusing and for few blessed moments I almost forgot that my spectacles were un-cool. During the lunch break, I suddenly bumped into a group of people chatting away. They were startled but luckily for me, they didn’t create a fuss about it. But it left me wondering why I didn’t look where I was walking?

During the afternoon classes I found myself squinting at the board. Why did I fail to copy the work when everyone else was already done with it, I was good at this subject then what was it which caused this hindrance? By the end of the day at school I was confused and perplexed. My head was throbbing with a sharp pain that I had never experienced before.

As I headed towards my van, I heard someone calling my name. Turning to look around, I couldn’t bring myself to recognise the face, however, that person was shouting to stop me from stepping inside the wrong van. I walked in their direction and to my bewilderment I realised that indeed I was headed towards the wrong van. Glad for the warning, I thanked this person whom I now recognised as my fellow van mate.

By this time I was wondering whether the studies were taking a toll on my senses? This was the same question I asked my mother as soon as I reached home.

My mother’s response made my belief firm in the fact that mothers know everything. She asked me to go and look in the mirror.

Lo behold! To my astonishment, I realised that my spectacles were missing from my face!

Everything fell into place. Yet how my glasses got lost remains a mystery to this day. But what I would not forget about that day is that I was banished from watching the television or play computer games. I was also not allowed to read. My mother insisted that I had to rest and not strain my eyes to make the headache go away. I went to order a new set of spectacles later that night when father came home.

It was quite late by the time I retired to bed. But before sleeping, I promised myself to never feel ashamed about wearing spectacles. After all, my health was above being known as a cool person. Moreover, my spectacles are my aid to make everyday life smoother. Never again have I looked down on myself as an un-cool person, after all wearing spectacles somehow gave that aura of being seen as a smarter student. And it’s amusing to see this growing trend of people wearing spectacles to make a fashion statement. Funny isn’t it?

Published in Dawn, Young World, August 27th, 2016