Misbah aimed the arrow at the target, the little red point. He wanted to prove himself right, he wanted to prove himself equal to anyone else. Nothing could stop him, he could not let that happen. He was going to win, he was sure of it.

Misbah was born cross-eyed. His doctor had told his parents that it was an infrequent condition, called strabismus, which occurs in only one out of roughly every hundred babies born.

Misbah’s parents were very conscious of his feelings and tried their best to make sure he never felt left out or different from others. But it wasn’t as if there weren’t moments when he felt different. Like the time when he went grocery shopping with his mother. Two short and stout women made their way to the counter. Misbah looked at them.

As the lady closer to him examined the pair of glasses he was wearing, she wailed, “Oh my! What happened to him? Glasses at such a young age, poor kid!”

The other shook her head viciously. Misbah’s mother clutched his hand and pulled him away from the two women who had no idea what their words would make him feel.

On his first day of school, Misbah found himself being stared at by several children. He didn’t pay much attention to this because he was used to it. He had learnt to take this kind of attention in his stride, as he had learnt to keep to himself, avoiding other kids since it always led to them talking about his eyes.

While Misbah was eating his chicken sandwich quietly in a corner during the lunch break, a boy with ruffled hair came up to him and said, “What’s wrong with your eyes?”

Misbah looked up as he stopped eating. He blinked and started eating again. What could he have answered, for he didn’t really know himself. And according to what his mother had told him, there was nothing wrong with his eyes, they were normal. But if there was nothing wrong, why would random people come up to him to ask what was wrong with his eyes?

Misbah’s parents never told him he had a disorder; he realised it by himself when he was around eight. Whenever he went somewhere, children pointed and laughed at him. So it was obvious, of course. Then there were times when the neighbourhood boys would not allow him to play with them and Misbah would linger in the streets aimlessly, because he didn’t want his mother to know that they didn’t let him join their team just due to the way he looked.

One day Misbah was sitting alone on the school grounds when a group of boys came to him and mocked him as he quietly read his book. But he calmed himself, if there were people out there to degrade him like this, there were also folks who cared. Miss Hana, his teacher who was particularly kind to him and noticed how others treated him, had told them in the chapter on Aristotle that “The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.”

It did not matter what people’s opinions were, he though, his future was far more beautiful and brighter than any of their comments. He realised that he needed to concentrate on what he could control, not on what he could not.

An archery competition was coming up. Misbah excelled in archery as it was his passion, his favourite sport and he was sure he was going to win. He signed up at once, since it was Misbah’s chance to prove himself to everyone who thought his future was bleak. No, it would take more than his strabismus to stop him from conquering the world.

The big day came. The candidates’ names were called and, one by one, everyone displayed their talent in archery. The last turn was Misbah’s. He looked around at the crowd, raised his bow, pulled back the arrow and let it go. The arrow glided through the air and landed precisely on the target!

Everyone was stunned for few were expecting this result from him. The initial few moments of silence were followed by a loud applause for Misbah. The next rounds were accompanied by some cheers and some disappointments. However, all the five rounds also went great for Misbah.

But on his last attempt, someone from behind him shouted, “He can’t do it, he can’t even see straight! Ha, ha!”

Misbah winced, but then Miss Hana’s words echoed in his ears: “You can do it, Misbah. You are smart, much more talented and much more foresighted than you can imagine. I can feel the passion and determination in you. Show them you are no less than anyone. I know you can do it.”

Misbah pulled the string and let go of the arrow. It soared through the air and pierced the target, right through to the other side. There was a moment of silence. With such efficiency and talent, the judges were simply delighted with Misbah’s talent. His win clearly showed that he was indeed, one in a hundred.

Published in Dawn, Young World, September 9th, 2023