i witnessed failure just now. the sight of a demoralised teenager who had just failed, crushes me. the look on her face, showed thousands of emotion. one of them, sadness.

after failing for the second time in a row, she looks like she has given up hope on chances of passing. her face, red from all the running and the scorching heat. her eyes told me, she felt useless.

even before the much-anticipated run, she was agitated. she couldn't eat or drink. she felt nauseous. a tummyache was building in her belly. yet, she tried being optimistic. 'i can pass,' she whispered to herself, trying to be confident but in her heart she knew she was going to fail.

even with the guidance of the teacher, the encouragement did not pay off like it should. the teacher told her, "you need to train". she shrugged.

she slowly made her way to class, dejectedly. she pondered whether is she going to pass next week, which seems oh-so-impossible everytime she begins wondering.

she tried, unconvincingly, making herself feel better. 'at least i came in, second last,' she whispered hoarsely. at least she tried making herself think positive again, away from her pessimist ways but, she couldn't convince me and even herself. as long as she has a positive approach in the other runs to come.

luckily, i was spared from the torture. however, i did faced the semi-torture last week. it didn't seem to be torture for me. although, i was extremely surprised when the teacher informed me, i failed. i felt dejected too but just now i had a sense of triumph. i ran. ran as fast as i could and i passed. thank God.

next week will she face the same nightmare haunting her again and again, week after week?