These days are so miserable! Everyone is trying to avoid me. No one cares about me… This is so sad. I don’t know what happened to my human friends. There was a time when we were so close that they carried me everywhere. Wherever they went, they took me along. But now, everything has changed. When I try to get along, they shoo me away. I feel abandoned, and reduced to a shadow of my former self.

I was there to meet all their needs. I helped them carry food, vegetables, fruits, medicines, books, tiffin... even waste, which none of the others did. I existed in different forms. Bag, bottle, pan, box, bin, and in so many states you can’t imagine. You name it, I was it. I was present everywhere. Humans couldn’t live without me. I was their best friend. Now everyone looks at me like a culprit! Those piercing eyes… they're unbearable. They glare, they turn away, as if I’m a stain they regret ever letting into their lives.

(Silence and suddenly)

Whom did they think I was? A dumb object? No. I was the Boss! I was omnipotent and ubiquitous!

When everyone took me for granted, I didn’t like it. No one understood my power, my potential. It was time to change. Humans used to say that ‘change is inevitable.’ Yes. Slowly, I removed that ‘good’ mask! A quick shift in character…(a deep, triumphant laugh)… that was the start of something legendary! That was incredible! I started to create trouble. One of them, they named it ‘Pollution’. I really liked that term. When I was dumped somewhere, it was land pollution. In water, it was water pollution. If burned, air pollution.

It sounds like a legacy created by a legend. And who is that legend? Well, no one else, it’s me…(a wicked laugh). I became famous. I was in newspapers, magazines, posters, notices... Even columnists wrote about me. People started calling me ‘Villain’! That was interesting. I was relishing my villain-hood. Those who insulted me now looked at me with fear. I started spreading diseases, causing cancers. My dominance expanded beyond Humankind. My kingdom was the Earth. No king in history had such an empire.

But the ego of humans challenged me. To beat that, I emitted poisonous gases, chemicals. My offspring littered their cleanliness. I created health problems, and controlled their breathing. Nobody could kill me, and I would never die.

When suffering knocked on their doors, they finally began to grasp the cost of their choices. It took time, but humans finally identified the real villain behind the mask. I enjoyed people rushing to hospitals, suffocating, vomiting, crying… At first, it was sad that they didn’t realize I was the troublemaker. But then doctors wrote on official letter pads: “PLASTIC CAUSES HEALTH PROBLEMS AND IS DEADLY DANGEROUS.” That was my official villain certification. My joy knew no bounds.

Still, humans didn’t fear me. I was shocked. But slowly, as they watched their loved ones suffer, they learnt. I could see fear in their eyes. I began to feel the ultimate joy of being successful. I believed I would be the one to end mankind, not viruses or bacteria, but me. Their end would be by their own invention.

Though they knew my ill effects, people still brought me into their homes. I was always a welcome guest. Even after the bans, people took me into their homes. I was at the top of the world. But suddenly, things turned upside down. I didn’t know what happened. It was like being thrown out of a palace. I was the King. Then, I became a beggar!

Things were no longer the same. People stopped coming to me. No one needed me. In shops, things are wrapped in paper. People drink shakes with steel straws! Instead of carrying me to malls and bazaars, they take cloth bags. They drink water from steel and glass bottles. I used to be everywhere. Now I am vanishing. The very same people who once depended on me now rejected me without a second thought. Wasn’t that an abrupt end for a legend? Or did it take time? I couldn’t tell. Maybe I was too immersed in success. Probably that. But I always believed nothing could replace me.

That was wrong. Yes, I was wrong.

Everything is replaceable. When a yellow leaf falls, another sapling is planted. I met my end. Now the whole show is run by cloth, jute, steel, and glass. Most of me has been replaced. Now only the good ones remain. Durable. Reusable. Respected. They were nobodies when I was the boss. Everyone has a day. It’s just a matter of time. Here, my time ends…And so, the curtain falls on my reign. A reign that was built on dependence and destroyed by realization. A reign that was destined to fall.

Dear mankind,

I am truly sorry for all the destruction. I had become blinded by my own power. It all happened in my sprint to be on top. Sorry for everything.

Goodbye.