Will's dream

Will was trying to listen, how the discussion downstairs was going on. He knew that the consequences of the decision he made were far reaching and would impact not only him but his family as well. Will had decided to let go of his longtime family business and had decided to become a physicist . It was a shoe factory business established by father(James) of his great grandfather(Anthony).

James was a shoe cobbler, who owned a little shop in the city where he used to work whenever he could get some time out of his primary occupation of farming. He later saw the potential in the shoe-making business and decided to sell all his land(except the part where his family’s ancestral home was),and established a shoe factory from the money he got in return. The business started flourishing when Anthony was twelve . Anthony too got into the business and since then all the men and women born in the family actively participated in the shoe-making business.

Will was the first person from the family to think of leaving the family business. It was equivalent to breaking a sacred tradition. But will was driven by the urge to discover and know about the beauty of the universe. He was immensely inspired by the likes of Albert Einstein and Richard Feynman. Now there was no turning back. After a long session of begging and pleading his father , his father finally agreed to his demand. But convincing his father was not enough . a family meeting had been called and will was sent in his room upstairs . Even the members from will’s maternal side were called, for it was considered an important decision that should be made with everyone’s approval.

All of them were having an discussion. From what will could hear, he understood that not many people were happy with his decision but were ready to support him. But some of them, especially the older folks were extremely angry with this decision. They were extremely angry with his parents that they even considered such a thing. But will could hear his father defend him against everyone. This made him love his father even more.  

Will was 17 years old, bright faced boy with straight oily hairs crowding his forehead. He was shorter than other kids of his age, but was bold and highly intelligent. He was sitting on his bed and looking outside the adjacent window, his eyes were fixed on the grass in his backyard garden and was thinking about all the possible scenarios that this discussion could result in. will heard his father call him downstairs. He hurried quickly down the stairs and inside the living room where every close relative of his was present. Some were sitting on the couch . some were standing behind it, his grandparents were sitting on crafted wooden chairs. His uncles stood by the front door, his mother next to them.

At the middle of the room was his father facing Will with an anxious face and lowered gaze. He lifted his face and managed to smile and asked will, “are you sure that this is what you want?”. ‘ the boy doesn’t know what is good for him, he is too young to understand’ said Will’s grandfather in low grumpy voice. ‘Please dad let this be his decision ,we cannot force him to do what we want ‘, after a little pause he continued ‘ we’ve had a long discussion and now it is time for decision; tell us Will , is this what you want?

It took some time for will to comprehend what was going on. Although he was sure about his decision, he gave it a little thought before conforming it. ‘I am sure that this is what I want to do ‘, as soon as Will said this, many people in the room had a frown on there face. Looking at those people he thought that it was his responsibility to explain his decision to them. ‘I know no one from our family has ever done something like this before , giving up the family business looks like a bad choice’ , he waited midway because he was unsure that whether he should continue. He looked at his father who smiled and gave him a affirmative look. ‘The main thing is , it is my life and I have to live with consequences of the decisions I make, I will be honest with you; I am a little scared about it too, but physics is something that I love and I would like to spend my life learning about it. I cannot guarantee that it would be as profitable as our business, but all I know is that I would be really happy and satisfied to be a physicist irrespective of the money or fame that I get’.

Most of the people in the room seemed to be convinced with his little speech, but his grandfather was still confused. ‘ Please dad give him a chance ‘, pleaded Will’s father. David( Will’s grandfather) wasn’t an evil or orthodox man but having dedicated his life through thick and thin to the family business, it was difficult for him to agree with Will’s demand. He knew that this would happen someday and he also knew that he cannot always force everyone to join the family business forever. The only thing that was stopping him from coming to a conclusion was his love for the factory and the fear that one day it might run out of business because no one looked after it. But his love for his family overcame the love for his business and he finally agreed to wills wish. ‘If that is what you want, I wont stop you’ said David.

Everyone was now ready to let will be a physicist and the meeting was dismissed and everyone started having different conversations . Will rushed upstairs. He was having mixed emotions. Although he was happy that he was going to become a physicist , he was also a little scared about the amount of responsibility and expectations he carried with him. But he had some kind of faith in himself which assured him that he would make everyone proud. After a little while his father came and sat next to him. ‘ I loved painting as a child and wanted to become a painter, but unfortunately I could never gather up the courage to tell my father about it; although I am happy right now I always wonder what would have happened if only I had the courage to tell my father about it. But I am really glad that you stood up for yourself and are about to something you want. Your mother is also happy with your decision , go for it , we are with you’ .after completing his talk he gave Will a hug and returned downstairs . Will sat back and again started looking outside the window and began daydreaming about a beautiful future.