Courage, was a value that i possess, and i pride myself upon. The ability to do things without hesistation, without any fear. but when, my definition of courage contradicts with what my peers perceive as courage, it was only then, i discovered the genuine meaning of courage.


My 2 friends tugged at my shirt, a signal that i should follow them. I followed them to a corner, well-shielded by the many racks of groceries placed around the supermarket.My eyes flirted with them, suspicion clearly evident in my eyes. Without needing a second prompting, Sam stood forward.

"We dare you to slide that packet of sweets into your pocket, and walk out of here." Sam's voice was cold and soft.

My eyes bore into his, as i looked for any indication that this was merely a joke.

"He can hold off a good stare." I thought to myself, as i stared at my other friend, in a bid to cut this prank short.

"We are not kidding. if you are as courageous as you claim, do it right away." Hiangtat chipped in, sensing my hesistation.

"You guys ain't serious right?" I blurted out, my heart beating increasingly faster, and bloods snaking their way througout my body with increasing pace.

They both gave a twitch of their head, gesturing towards the packet of sweets.

"They are dead serious." I thought, anxiety gripping me.

I stretched my hand out, just short of grabbing the sweet, when i paused. i struggled to comes to terms that 2 of my best friends, had actually dared me to flaunt the law. all my moral values, social etiquette, within me, seemed to be crying out for justice. The cold stares of my friends, reached my inner self, and my soul was shaken by their sheer presence. i grabbed the packet, and stuffed it into my back pocket, and flung a hurried glance at them both.

again, they gestured for me to go out of the supermarket. every step that i took towards the exit of the supermarket, my heartbeat was increasing, my pulse was spiralling out of control. it was as though i was on stimulants, or have just successfully completed a marathon. Coincidentally, we walked past the drinks section. on the floor ahead of me, was a bottle of chrysanthenum tea. I never did like the drink since young, and with the recent new formula of a white chrysanthenum tea, it really compounded on my dislike. but, it bore a huge significane on my existence.

I was caught stealing it once, after being denied a paltry sum of money to purchase it by my father. the expression in his eyes, as he coaxed the stall owner out of trying to press charges against me, a minor, chilled me to the spine then, and now, seeing the bottle, i was reminded of my past, the vivid image of my father's soft eyes, with compassion and disappointment inscribed on it, was too much for me to bear.

i dug into the identical pocket, as i fished out the sweets, and flung it as hard as i could at Hiangtat.

"F*** you guys, you guys arent good friends." I screamed as i took to my heels.

As i ran,i could hear their following footsteps. the scent of impending danger was upon me. but somehow, whenever the sound got louder, i was granted a surge of energy, to gain some distance between me, and them. By the time, we left the supermarket, they have somehow lost me, and i could imagine, the image of my father, smiling at me, an indication of the pride he felt.

The courage to stand up against wrong deeds, and persist with your values, under the face of peer pressure, is genuine courage. this courage granted me the impetus to run faster. I will never compensate on this courage, for this, is my birthright.