Jealousy

The hunt was on. The search was in full swing. 

This was something which they were doing for the first time. And such initial pursuits do not always yield the best results. 

But here they were not looking for someone who could qualify for the “best” tag. They were looking for someone who would win the “worst” tag - The title of the most jealous person on earth.

They spread their hunt across the six habitable continents, across seas, across lands. Deserts were not spared. 

They surveyed people across age groups – from just born kids to teenagers, from adolescents to middle aged people. They didn’t even exclude the old stars. 

They believed in the fundamental theory of search – the wider the sample set, the better the chance of finding what you want.

They weren’t disappointed.

They met a man whose eyes glowed with jealousy at the sight of someone’s happiness. They probed him further only to realise that such thoughts were without remorse. 

A deeper examination revealed that such feelings were all the more frequent. And he admitted that this had been the case since long.

They met someone else whose heart beat faster with jealousy. This was the result of someone experiencing some kind of joy. 

And it was not that he was deprived of experiencing similar delight at some point of time. But the thoughts of his cup of joy being empty while seeing someone’s cup overflowing with such rejoices made him green with envy.

They came across a lady whose eyes streaked like a flare with jealousy. And she always wore a mask so that the people couldn't catch her.

Eyes they say are a window to a person’s soul. And such jealousy reflected her frail soul. 

It was a soul that could collapse at any point of time. It was a soul which could not withstand such moments. It was a soul acting as a servant of these jealous thoughts.

But a soul is said to power a man and his feelings. What does a soul do which is plagued with jealousy? 

They say – If you can’t beat it, join it. With this, the soul ended up thrusting such thoughts back into the mind, resulting in a vicious cycle.

Jealousy breeds Jealousy. Nothing more, Nothing Less.

And then after a few months of a worldwide hunt, it was the time to crown the winner. Or loser would be a more apt word in this context.

A giant screen was erected – with a flashy LED display. The moment had arrived to declare the humble recipient of this poor tag.

They had found someone who not only embodied a few of these “qualities” but substantiated all of them.

Who was it?

And then came the moment. 

The world jeered and the crowd booed as a face flashed on the giant screen – my face. 

A bad habit had made me a come first - a sad first in the poor race of jealousy.