The Abyss: Outsider
I imagined the atmosphere would be clear,
shot with pristine light,
not this sulphurous haze,
the air ionized as before a thunderstorm.
— Billy Collins
“Gahh!” Adam screamed as he crumpled up yet another piece of paper, throwing it into the overflowing trash. His nails dug into his hair painfully as he sat there frustrated. “Adam, my friend like I’ve been saying all this time, get yourself a lady”. Alan paused, feigning contemplation. “Or a man, whatever floats your boat”, he added smirking at Adam, while biting into an apple.
“I feel like I’m not going anywhere with this, old friend”, ignoring Alan’s filthy comment. “All these months I’ve spent cooped up in this hole and I have nothing to show for it. If only I could get my hands on some good equipment, I can finally put all my ideas to motion”. “Oh, oh here’s a radical thought. Hear me out. You graduated from Stanford, top of the class in theoretical physics. You’re literally the smartest person I know. How about you actually apply for a job??”, asked Alan raising an eyebrow.
Adam started pacing back and forth inside the room. “It’s the people I will have to work with, Alan. They don’t open their minds. Their fear of the unknown restricts them from doing great things. They mock what they cannot fathom”, he said heaving a big sigh. He looked at his mom smiling gently at him from across the room.” Adam, my smart child, you shouldn’t worry about what others say or think. Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. The mediocre mind is incapable of understanding the man who refuses to bow blindly to conventional prejudices. You, my boy, are no mediocre mind. You have always been different from others. An outsider. Own up to it and make your mother proud”, she said. As always, his mother’s was the only voice of reason he would listen to.
“Alright, Ma. I may just have to grit through this. But it’ll all be worth it when I prove everyone wrong. I’ll show ’em “. He ran as fast as his small legs allow him to, past all the students in the hallway. He locked himself in a cubicle in the washroom and cried curled up in the corner as he heard heavy banging on the door. “Adam? Adam! Are you listening to me? I asked if you’re finally gonna respond to that sci-tech company that’s been sending you a hundred letters begging you to take up a job there”, Alan shouted bringing Adam back from his reverie. Adam shook the thought away, grinned at Alan and said with newfound enthusiasm, “Yes!”
This article was written in collaboration with Mr Bonkers.
