Game of Fear

Fear has another face.

Perhaps fear has two sides. One known and the unknown.

Like in horror movies, initially the spirits keep scaring you by leaving their imprints- blood in the basin, squeaking doors, unidentified reflections, flying curtains; without actually showing up. Leaving it to your fancy to create fear as much as you wish for.

And after an hour of peek-a-boo, they suddenly appear. Point Blank. Without a notice period. Like a straightforward question of yes or no at a gun-point. Where you just participate in a game of pre-decided (and unfair) rules and periods.

And it shows you all the possibilities of your probable and most improbable failures. And like you experience it in your dreams- trying to run but you can’t get up, finding yourself naked in public, a dead one appearing or being run over by a vehicle. You face the most gruesome side of unquestioned surrender.

I had been comparing which one is scarier- when you know what lies ahead or when you don’t. All my life I have been scared of the unknown. Wasting my time on painting the cruelest images of it, anticipating the worst and listlessly pumping myself with hopeful quotes. And this time, I faced it. Like that victim in the horror movie who faces but survives in the end. 

And the truth is- what you face scares you the least. If you get to ‘see’ the ghost of your fear, you become resistant to its daunting appearance. Though it will not evaporate till you suck all the panicy- poisonous fluid out of it, yourself.  

And when you start to move on, the unfamiliar one becomes the next contestant.

The game of tennis with Fear of receiving and passing off the ball will keep running the show for life. Don’t worry about missing to hit back but make sure to hit back harder each time you do!