A Turn of Fate

 A Turn of Fate

By Aryan Mukherjee

Thomas Jefferson once said, “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” In the case of Ryan Edwards, Mr. Jefferson did not know what he was talking about. 

Ryan grew up in his home town in Raleigh, North Carolina, and from the day he was born, he had dreams that seemed impossible. You see, Ryan had Dupuytren’s contracture, a disease that transformed his hands into a twisted and crooked shape. His family was impoverished, living in poverty, and barely able to afford Ryan’s education. To make matters worse, Ryan wanted to become a doctor, moreover, a surgeon, when he grew up. 

At Ryan’s school, despite his poor state at home, Ryan aced every one of his classes, and would always tell his classmates about his dream of becoming a doctor. For this reason, Ryan would face much bullying and discrimination.

“Loser!”, “Teacher’s Pet”, “Deformity”, and “Retard” were only some of the taunts he would hear on a daily basis. There were, however, some kids who were “nice”, and by that, they would avoid him at all costs, even if it meant being late to class. One day, as Ryan grew up, an especially notorious bully by the name of Jeff approached Ryan as he was evading school grounds. 

“Hey dork, nice backpack you got there,” Jeff snickered as he pointed at Ryan’s pink Dora backpack, “Do you mind if I take that from you?”

Before Ryan could respond, Jeff roughly yanked the backpack off of Ryan’s shoulders and dumped its contents on the floor. 

“Ooh, what do we have here,” Jeff said, picking up a long, expensive-looking stethoscope from the scuffle of items. 

“Please don’t,” Ryan wailed, as Jeff started bending the stethoscope. Ryan’s parents had worked long and hard just to buy that for him, and he wanted to keep it in good condition. He gulped, desperately pleading like a mouse who crossed paths with a cat. As Jeff ignored him, Ryan lurched forward and tried to grab the tools with his flimsy hands. This was responded to by a rough shove to the floor from Jeff, like a toddler trying to push away vegetables.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” Jeff muttered, and smashed the stethoscope under his feet, walking away with a big grin on his face. Ryan uttered a horrified shriek, his red marks creeping through the corners of his eyes, his brain attempting to grasp what Jeff had just done. How could a person be so cruel as to dedicate every moment of their presence to ruining your life? Ryan tried to move, to gather his thoughts, to do something, but alas, all he could do was lie there, weak as a newborn infant. 

12 years later and the world had changed for Ryan. He had gotten a Ph.D. from Duke University in North Carolina and was a full-fledged surgeon at Duke Raleigh Hospital. During those years he faced much discrimination, but that didn’t stop him and his determination. Of course, it wasn’t easy being different from others but he persevered and was soon known across the state. He had worked his way up through the ranks, and despite what others said, he was a surgeon. 

Jeff, on the other hand, was not doing so well. He had strayed from the path of academics and was now one of the most notorious gangsters in Raleigh. One day he had lost a fistfight at a bar and refused to pay the bet. Things went south fast for him, and eventually, he was admitted into a hospital with 12 broken bones, 5 teeth knocked from his mouth, and several other gory injuries. He had almost died, if not having been saved by the surgeon at that hospital. When he finally went home, ready to change his ways of life, he was confronted by the surgeon who saved his life. 

“Thank you so much for saving my life. I will forever be in debt to you. What is your name?” Jeff inquired, and for the first time in his life, a look of honesty and sincerity flashed in his eyes. 

The surgeon just smiled and whispered softly, “My name is Ryan. Ryan Edwards”.