‘The Last Question’

By Akshaj Gupta, Class XI, Apeejay School, Pitampura

Every evening, before dinner, Kabir and his grandfather sat together on the old wooden bench in their garden. It had become a ritual. Kabir would bring a notebook full of questions, and his grandfather would answer them with patience and warmth.

“Why is the sky blue?” 
“What makes people happy?” 
“Do stars die too?”

And every time, his grandfather answered in a way that made Kabir think for hours.

But one day, Kabir asked something different.

“Why do people stop asking questions when they grow up?”

His grandfather smiled gently and looked toward the fading sun. “Because sometimes, when people grow up, they believe they know enough. Or worse, they fear the answers.”

Kabir blinked. “Fear the answers?”

“Yes,” his grandfather nodded. “Some questions lead to truths that challenge how we live, how we think, or how we treat others. It’s easier to stay comfortable than to question what feels normal.”

That night, Kabir couldn’t sleep. He thought about how his teachers rarely questioned the way the school worked, how adults followed rules even if they were unfair, and how many people around him stayed silent when something felt wrong.

The next morning, he did something unusual. He walked up to his principal and asked, “Why don’t we have a student suggestion box in school?” 
The principal looked surprised, then thoughtful.

Within a week, the school had a bright red box installed next to the notice board.

From that day, Kabir never stopped asking questions—some small, some bold. And slowly, things began to change around him. People started listening, thinking, even questioning themselves.

Years later, when Kabir became a teacher, he kept a board in his classroom that read:

“The most powerful people in the world are the ones who never stop asking questions.”

Moral:

Growth doesn’t come from knowing all the answers—it comes from asking the right questions. When we stop being curious, we stop evolving. The world changes not because someone knew everything, but because someone dared to ask “Why not?”

By Akshaj Gupta

Class XI

Apeejay School, Pitampura