Tino since his childhood was a versatile athlete and an outstanding student. He mainly excelled in swimming and surpassed all others who tried to beat him. His aura had a sense of charm and charisma that no one could match.
The irony of his life remained that despite oozing immense charisma and being one of the most confident boys for his age he could not make many friends even though many were drawn to him yet secretly often despised him for his achievements and wished that he’d fail every now and then. However, a boy named Aquila sticked with Tino throughout the highs and lows. Aquila was not a great athlete and was pretty decent in studies but what he did have was an unbreakable spirit. Since Tino was an infant Aquila was a reliable friend and a loyal sidekick, who managed things smoothly without worrying and giving up. Aquila was the only person that knew all of Tino’s secrets and treated him like family
While Tino remained an enthusiastic athlete and acquired magnificent skills along the way in various sports. His lack of perseverance kept him mentally a step back. He gave up too easily and refused to cope well with failures. If a challenge posed in front of him seemed too difficult, he simply gave up. Every setback left him discouraged making him quick in abandoning his hardwork, if things didn’t go his way.
While reaching adulthood Tino started falling behind. His grades started going down, it seemed like his body started shrinking as others grew in height, his weight suddenly started reducing day by day and most importantly he started losing in his swimming championships which a while ago seemed impossible
As Tino became an adult he had given up on everything.
His dreams of being a swimmer?
Gone. His ambition to go to Harward Law School? Faded. His attempt at running a marathon? Lasted three weeks.
Even his plants, which only needed water and sunlight, had withered under his care.
Just for mere survival he had to get a decent job but that also he could not do because after getting rejected in his first interview he gave up and started resting in his blanket trying to find another excuse for giving up as this became his speciality
The sight of watching Tino waste his potential over the years and the thought of Tino being futile to his ambitions just because he lacks tenacity troubled Aquila.
He thought that Tino would get better as time passes and would suggest of trying again at an interview for a decent paying job or trying his chances at the olympics as a swimmer because Aquila was never over the fact that Tino was the best. Aquila knew that Tino had the caliber to succeed and believed in the fact that Tino was just too irresolute to realise it.
Aquila was the only friend Tino had since childhood. therefore, he saw it as his responsibility for getting Tino on the right path. He decided to talk to Tino to make make him realise of his potential and the various things that he can accomplish.
Aquila further called Tino to his house on a sunny Friday at 4’o clock in the evening.
As Aquila stared at the clock and realised that the hour hand was at three and the minute hand was about to reach four he started preparing himself of what he would say to Tino when he arrives. Aquila decided that he will not be very harsh on Tino and would first make him comfortable,further with utmost calmness explain to him that what he was doing is wrong and that he doesn’t have to just give up…
Then Suddenly his phone started ringing vigorously! Aquila quickly runs towards the phone thinking it’s Tino asking him to open the door.
it was Tino, not asking to open the door but apologising that he would not be able to make it because halfway through he saw a lot of traffic jam so he had turned back
This infuriated Aquila he forgot his decision of not being harsh and screams at Tino on the phone saying “you don’t have to just give up after every minor inconvenience in your task. This is the reason why you are not able to do anything in your life because you don’t have an ounce of tenacity in your blood!.”
Tino thinking that Aquila is overreacting ask’s with a firm voice “may i ask,in which way do i lack tenacity in this situation?”
Aquila replies “A person driving a car may lack tenacity
Not by turning the wheel, but by turning away from detours that demand patience,
From roads that test resolve.” After every fall you have to Wake up, be tenacious and bounce back stronger analysing where you have gone wrong rather than giving up. You don’t even have a job because a job demands many ppt’s from a person but the only “ppt” you really need in your life was “patience, perseverance and tenacity.”
these words from Aquila left a deep scar on Tino he wanted to disagree to these things but deep in his heart he knew that every ounce of his speech was true still he tried to bounce those allegations and further Aquila exclaimed “if you really think that you can finish something without giving up then prove it by going to this camp in the jungle tomorrow.” while sending a pamphlet to Tino through messages on his phone.
The next day Tino finds himself lost in a dense jungle surrounded by tall trees and the distant cries of wild animals. Yet he wasn’t surprised as he had signed up for a “life -changing survival retreat” to prove that he could finish something. But within an hour, he had gotten separated from the group, lost his map and dropped his bag into a river.
While finding others in the scorching heat he collapses against a tree to rest, slowly he falls asleep. Deep in the woods, his snores echoed like a lazy bear’s, until a rogue mango smacked him awake. Tino yelped and looked up but rather than seeing a big tree with juicy mangoes on it he see’s a thicket of dark leafy trees through the holes in between he notices that the sun is setting and soon it will be dark and cold.
Tino while rubbing his hand’s whispered “what should i do now?” As he applied force on his brain thinking what the survival instructor had taught to do in this situation the idea of lighting a fire snapped, So that he can keep himself warm and survive the night through.
He quickly started collecting wood it took him an hour to do this but atleast he succeeded in something. Yet it wasn’t enough he had to light the fire with something. He quickly picked up two pieces of rock and stared at the rocks in disbelief.
Tino hesitated. He had watched the survival instructor do this a few hours ago. He told himself he would learn, but it looked too hard and exhausting. He had finally come to the conclusion that he’d just borrow a lighter from someone. So he didn’t bother to learn.
As he remembered that before sleeping he had dropped his bag into the river and was an inch away from breaking in tears. Suddenly Out of the silence, a low and deliberate whisper crept through the forest from a distance saying-“Rub the rock.”
He took the whisper as a sign from god,with his trembling hands gathered hope and started rubbing the two rocks upward. His hands turned black, his arms became sore but fire refused to appear
“I can’t do it,” he muttered with tears falling from his eyes ”I don’t want to die, please somebody help me”
As he fought the cold with trembling hands striking the rocks again and again,his vision started blurring and he fell before the fire did.
He was slipping away,death was barely an inch away from taking him and then
a voice, clear and familiar, broke through the void.
“wake up.”
“Be tenacious.”
“Learn from your mistakes”
He opened his eyes and with blurred vision,
crawled back to the stone.
“One more try”.
“One more strike”. And this time rather than rubbing the rock upward He struck the rock downwards.
A tiny spark. Tino gasped he kept going until the spark became a flame, until the fire grew, warm and alive in the darkness of the jungle.
For the first time in his life, he hadn’t quit.
Further he slept the night through under the warmth the fire had created both physically and emotionally
the next morning his travel-mates and survival instructor found him and he completed the camp.
As he reached home. Without even catching his breath he quickly grabbed his car keys and drove off to Aquila’s house. This time when he saw a traffic jam rather than turning behind he parked his car in a nearby parking lot and ran till he reached his destination.
Further when he reached Aquila’s house panting he repeatedly rang the bell realising that the door was open he rushed in and found Aquila lying on the sofa while looking out of the window.
Aquila without turning his head chuckled . ”I expected you to arrive an hour later wasn’t there a lot of traffic?”
Tino gasping trying to catch his breadth replies “You… planned this, didn’t you? it was you who helped me in the jungle.”
Aquila just grinned and popped a mango into his mouth murmuring-Tenacious Tino
And somewhere, deep in the jungle, the gods of persistence chuckled, watching their newest disciple learn what it truly meant to keep going.