The Greatest Loser in the World

"Well I am in mood for a tragedy today," the story-teller began,
"And so I'll tell you about the greatest loser in the world, a simple man,
despite all his efforts he never wins, seemingly suffers from a curse,
to quote Crosby, Stills and Nash, he is the King Midas in reverse."

"Everything he touches changes to dust, even Sensex plunges into freefall,
when he invests in the stock market; for example on Satyam he had made a long call.
And you knew Kingfisher Airlines was bound to fail when he put his money on their stock,
if he is even thinking about investing in a share, you should take a long walk."

"And his professional life is middling at best, he isn't a complete failure as such,
but there are no crowning achievements, and as per his appraisals, he doesn't do much.
And like Michael Scott in office, he tries to make his co-workers love him and fails,
he is stuck in the same job for twelve years, and because of experience, is now leading Sales."

"But as you would have guessed, the sales of the company are falling, and pretty badly too,
he would have been long fired, but the company is in decline, and so failing to find someone new,
ergo, the Greatest Loser continues and tries hard, staying in office late, for he has no personal life,
but all his efforts amount to nothing, the latest sales pitch ends exactly like his search for a wife."

"He is 43 now, and still single, with no prospects of starting a family, for no one really likes him,
the friends he made in college are far away now - he looks at old photos, when all of them were slim,
they're busy with their lives, all married with wives and kids - each of them a family man,
he misses them, his only friends, but he is the only one calling and keeping in touch when he can."

"He likes to think of his team as his friends, but they only tolerate him for he is the boss,
and behind his back, he is the butt of many a joke; while making sure to his face he doesn't get cross.
He absolutely hates his seniors in the company, and sometimes he feels a sort of unreserved rage,
makes plans to shoot all of them down, which don't come into fruition for he lacks courage."

"His social life is completely missing, sometimes he sits drinking at the neighbourhood bar alone,
and when a girl sits next to him, he tries talking to her, but she is soon bored, out with a groan,
he thinks about all the girls he has known over the years, with whom he fell in love and got rejected,
and today when this ugly looking girl shows him the middle finger, he finally gets dejected."

"'Life's not fair,' he proclaims to no one in particular, and gets out of the bar, quite high,
 'I have tried being happy about life, but it has always made me sad,' he declares, with a sigh,
'And so there's nothing left in this life for me, I've had enough of this rough ride,
with my luck there seems to be only one way out for me,' was how he ended his note of suicide."

The children are shocked, many with tears in their eyes, and they ask the story teller, "Sir but why?
There wasn't much wrong with his life, yes he was unlucky, but why did he have to die."
"Here's a lesson for you all," the story teller says, with a wry smile, "loneliness can kill,
and if you find someone who is lonely, make him a friend, a life you can save if you will."