How This Person Took Me On An Amazing Adventure

Once upon a time, there was a lady who changed the future for the better. No! She wasn’t a clairvoyant or a psychic reader who could read the lines off of the palms or the expressions from the faces. Every day, she’d step into a place where many young minds entered. With the spell of her energy, she’d create magic where the young minds would fly into a fantasy world; where the real world would start making some sense, and where, meeting historic figures and events was common.

It was early in the morning one day when I was in high school. The first lecture that I had was Math. Trigonometric equations were still running in our heads. After the teacher had left, a bunch of us in the classroom were still wrapping our heads around one problem the teacher had assigned. Then started some chaos in the class. You know how it goes; the time between when a teacher leaves the class until the next one arrives, it’s like Mad Max Fury. But since it was early, most were still sleepy while others were just doing a light chit chat.

Just as everyone readied themselves for the next lecture, the teacher entered the classroom. The murmurs and chit-chats quieted down; turned backs were now straight & upright and all eyes were on the teacher. Today was the day when the English teacher was going to read a very famous story by the renowned author: Mark Twain. The story was an excerpt from Tom Sawyer’s book and she’d read it out loud and walk us through the narratives and concocted other similar and personal stories to give us the full experience of learning and even more important – Imagination.

“Don’t get any wrong ideas from Tom’s mischief. It’s already difficult for me to manage this class without introducing Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn and this book might serve as a perfect recipe for all the hard times you can give me. So, please, I request you to not get carried away with the book. It’s an artwork of fiction, one that’s meant for all of us to enjoy and better, to inspire us to read books. The important lesson we’ll be drawing from the stories is going to be: author’s narrative style, choice of words, grammar, and a little bit about his personality. Please turn to the next page and, the first roll number will read the first few pages followed by the second roll number, and so on. So, please remain present in the class and don’t be distracted. You’ll have to pick up from where the last student stops. Mind you, no one is going to help you where they stopped, so you better pay attention in the class.” She said firmly and took us on to a wonderful journey.

She wanted us to engage deeply with the stories and connect with them so well that she wanted us to be in place of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. When Tom and Huckleberry were deciding to explore the countryside, she pumped up the scenario with her elements to alleviate the experiences. We were reading a passage where Tom and Huckleberry wanted to ride their bikes, explore the town, take a dip in the nearby river, and get something to eat. In the story, Tom was riding a bike fast and never knocked anyone in his way. But for fun, she’d add some details in such scenes to make the class uproar with laughter.

Tom rode his bike from his place to the river where he decided to meet Huckleberry. But being restrained by his aunt to paint the fence in the front yard, Tom was late. He knew he’d have to give a slip to his aunt to escape from her clutches and ride twice as fast to the river to meet Huckleberry, lest he should get late. He put the brush down and told his aunt he had to use the bathroom. Once he latched the bathroom door from inside, Tom pushed the window from the back and slowly got out. He tip-toed his way to his bike and fled the place. The river was on the other side of the town. To make it to the other side, he knew he’d have to go through the cramped market. He knew a shortcut but, it was under construction. This left him no choice but to go through the bustling market. He scurried through a vegetable vendor and knocked him on the ground. All his vegetables rolled all over the place. Tom was about to have a fall on his face, but quickly applied the brakes and saved himself. Finally, he made it to the other side where he saw Huckleberry sitting on the ground cross-legged with his hands crossed behind him against a tree and chewing on a hay twig.

She portrayed the scene vividly to make us transport to the world of Mark Twain. What began as a monologue, soon transitioned into dialogues. Laugher, fun, and joy broke down some barriers and allowed the teacher-student rapport to flourish and bond solidly. Now and then, she’d stop reading and narrate her or her niece’s anecdotes and brought inclusiveness. She’d encourage students to share their funny and embarrassing stories. This would turn out to be a cathartic experience for everybody. Nobody felt alone in the class. Everyone knew everybody in the class was ever vulnerable. This vulnerability helped us escape from whatever emotional or social luggage every one of us was carrying we weren't aware of. It insulated us from the outside world and gave us a chance to peek into the world of fantasies where one’s wildest imagination admixed with personal narratives brought peace and authentic happiness. We intended to learn and read better in class to make better workers in the future, but we tapped into spirituality with utmost bliss. Who was she? How dare she made us humans instead of classic rat racers? How dare she brought out closeness, togetherness, and harmony to one of the most chaotic classes in the high school. She cannot be another joe, another common person, because she possessed the power to transport people into a beautiful world that years later would still serve as one of the brightest lights in our souls that would help us shepherd through some dark times. She was a teacher, and above all, she was a storyteller.