THE COUNTER-STRIKE
It was not difficult for Leon to understand
that his days at the top were over! He had the habit of assuming centre stage
wherever he was! But, of late, Noel was proving to be more than just an
irritation.
It all started months ago, with the
former ridiculing the latter in front of a significant crowd. It was Leon’s
nature to belittle other people who looked the type who could be overawed with high-decibel
wordiness into figuratively kowtowing before him, which he preferred to occur
in full public view so that as big an audience as could be managed celebrated
his superiority while he basked in glory and the badgered unfortunate fellow
was left nursing his mortal wound!
Once in a while however someone
comes along who does not take loud words at face value!
Noel belonged to that breed and
Leon failed to recognize and hazarded to play his usual game. After patiently suffering
for quarter of an hour being at the receiving end of the tirade of vicious innuendos,
cruel sarcasm, penetrating criticism, snide remarks and inexact and smoothly misleading
comments and thus almost being demolished by that overwhelming armamentarium,
Noel employed his counter!
Noel’s insouciant smile was the incongruously
surprising opener of the riposte. He wore a carefree and even-tempered look and
spoke in a soft but engaging tone and while he inwardly deliberated on every
word that he chose to voice out, he enacted his performance with absolutely
unhindered spontaneity! He dug out the half-truths in Leon’s much cheered
speech and cleaned the grime! These were plentiful and slowly but eventually
people gathered there could not deny the falsehood of many of Leon’s
statements! Noel thus drilled a chink in Leon’s armour!
After three months, the buttress of
Leon’s infallibility was no longer there. It was gradually dismantled and on
every occasion, the mortar that shelled it came from within! It was merely
deflected again and again to accomplish a successful counter-strike!
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