I make time in my life to tell stories, to write them and read them. Stories I have been told particularly by my mother and grandmother shaped me.
Tonight I will make time before I kiss my kids good night.
I want to tell them a story based on a character called Kast.
I know they will like the name Kast, I also know I will be made to repeat the story for a very long time.
I will tell them the story the way I see it and the way I want them to understand it.
I will tell them the character Kast belongs to a community of musicians.
The members of the community compose songs, make beats, play pianos, and they beat life out of their drums.
They drop singles.
They drop albums.
They are a happy bunch of people, they nod heads and stomp their feet.
They strung words together.
They get each other.
But the community has its own struggles, they don’t make enough money to sustain their passion and to sustain their lives.
Others communities do not exactly get them.
One day this character called Kast decided he is tired of obscurity and lack of recognition.
He wanted their talent to be recognized and celebrated by other communities.
He also wanted the community he belongs to, to get together and sing all night.
He wanted people to attend this celebration in large numbers until the venue could not take any more people.
Brilliant idea, only there was one problem, there was a lot of money needed.
Kast decided what was needed for this gathering was beyond his pocket.
“So what am I going to do.” Kast thought.
“I got two feet. I can walk a long long distance across the country. While I am walking I could raise money and move hearts. May be someone will pay attention.”
Kast shared the idea with the public.
There were those who told him, “Kast this is a ridiculous idea you will never walk such a distance. They are those who said Kast should give up, that it cannot be done. But then they were those who decided to walk with him.
And so Kast’s long journey across the country began. He gave his time to this mission. Kast started the walk with a few friends.
As he walked around he sweat and limped and on some days he felt the pain on his legs nonetheless he kept walking .
He decided to spend his days and night in pursuits of his dreams.
Sun scorching days found him walking.
Rainy days Kast did not stop him.
While other people took a hiding under the comfort of their roofs Kast kept walking.
He had uncommon strengths in his heart so that when his legs were weak his heart would keep him strong.
As he walked along the way he made friends; they walked and believed with him.
They said “walk baby walk”.
People paid attention. People opened their hearts and pockets. They gave their belongings. Masses joined him on his walk all because they started to understand his dream. The ones who did not believe swallowed their words.
The ones who were not interested started to notice.
Kast made the distance he promised to make and this he did for the sake of his community, for the sake of getting them celebrated and for the sake of his community singing the entire night and getting an opportunity to do what they like doing.
Why I want to tell my kids about a character called Kast?
I want them to know superheroes are not just the ones who climb over buildings and put out fires. There aren’t just the ones who fight evil virus and find a cure for it. I will tell them the world needs such superheroes.
But we can’t all jump from high buildings and find cure of diseases.
I want them to know that superheroes are those doing what everybody else thought they might never be able to do.
I want them to understand that superheroes are the ones follow through their dreams.
I want them to know that our own stories are not those of Avengers, Ben 10 and Spiderman, I want them to know our stories are of humans whose heart beats we can hear and whose pulse we can feel, whose legs we can see limping, who when we didn’t believe in their course they showed us we need to believe. I want them to know our own story are of human beings who fail and keep trying.
I want them to know our stories are of humans who while they may not spit fire through their eyes and mouth, spit fire through their hearts.
The fire they spit is the kind that makes them burn the miles every day and that kind of fire spread to other people.
This magic fire makes the people around them to want to understand their purpose and compels them to join in the movement.
I will tell my kids they carry that fire too.
I will tell them a great trait of superheroes is how well they are able to push against all odds.
I will tell them that God has given them internal fire just like superheroes.
I want to tell my kids about a character called Kast because I know one day they will want to fight life and odds will be against them because that is just the way of life but I would want them to remember this character.
I want them to know that in the end we all are superheroes and that they too are superheroes and that they need to take their little capes and fly.
I will tell them reporting a bully at school makes them superheroes and I will include myself in there and say when they help me cook they are saving me from exhaustion monsters.
I will tell them they are superheroes chasing the bogyman and dragons of loneliness when they become friends to somebody and when they exercise kindness.
I will tell them that superheroes decide not to dwell in prisons of their limitations; they give education their all, they grapple with life questions and keep going.