But I am not all those things!

Vivan was livid. He had had a massive fight with Aryan during recess. He was still boiling with anger when he reached home. Even when his mother served his favourite meal of Rajama-Chawal, it didn’t elevate his mood.

“I absolutely hate Aryan. I am never going to play with him again!” he said when his mother asked him what was wrong. Mother was surprised. The two boys always played together, even during holidays.

“He is a cheat,” Vivan added. “You know why he always wins? Because he cheats all the time! When we play with marbles, he always takes one step closer than allowed. When we play hide and seek, he counts faster than all of us. And today, he insisted I got run-out when I had actually reached before the ball hit the wickets!”

“I thought you guys have an umpire to make such decisions,” mother said.

“Today everybody wanted to play, so there was no umpire. But I know I was not out. He just doesn’t listen, mom. Aryan is a cheat. And always so stubborn! He is no fun. I don’t ever want to play with him again!”

When she saw how distressed he was, mother gathered Vivan in her arms. She hugged him and stroked his hair. 

“I am sorry you feel so bad, Vivan. Imagine for a moment that Aryan is with his mother right now. What do you think he is telling his mother about you right now?”, she asked gently.

Vivan was quiet for a while. Not that it was a tough question, but he didn't want to answer it. But mother insisted. 

“He must be saying that he doesn’t want to play with me anymore. That I am a bad player and a sore loser, no fun to play with,” Vivan said reluctantly.

“But I am not all those things, mom!”, Vivan added with tears in his eyes.

As mother continued to hold him and stroke his hair, Vivan closed his eyes and squeezed the tears out. Just before he opened them again, he could imagine Aryan telling his own mother, “But I am not all those things, mom!”

Note: This story is written to start a dialog with young children about perspective and empathy. I wanted to write a story that is not preachy, yet gets the point across, or at least gets children thinking about different perspectives of the same event. It is inspired by my own experience of explaining perspectives to my son when he was 8 years old.