What Happened?

“Maa… Maa...are you listening”

“Yes, Mahi I am listening” 

“Speak up! Tell me…am listening”

“Maa today we…”

“Mahi did you wash your hands” interrupted Ma

“Yes! Ma listen, today our ma’am gave us as a weekend work. We have to write a story” said Maheshwari.

“Okay good” said Ma 

“Ma but...but” Mahi hesitated

“Mahi eat fast and don’t talk while you’re eating” “And as usual…Don’t start day dream while eating” shouted Maa

After an hour or so Mahi sat with a pencil in her hand. Thinking quietly “Hmmmm! What should I write! I definitely do not want to write like Deepika. She wrote The Rabbit and the Tortoise story! And everyone knows’ that story; I want to write something different, at least something no one knows. Hmmm…. first of all what topic shall I take!! Shall I take comedy...no; what about horror; I don’t know...what about ahhh I’ll take adventure...everyone should be thrilled after the adventure story I write.  And I... I’m sure I ‘ll get the first prize.

Hmm…. now what is the next step?

Mahi was thinking seriously when she got an idea! 

“The next step is to think the theme I am going to write about”

“I’ll write on my mother!”

“Now…...how can I write an adventure story on my mother...first let me recollect what I know about my mother, then I’ll go ahead”

Now she took out her single liner rough book, took out her sharpener, eraser, whitener, pen and pencil and started write the things she knew about her mother.

“Yes...and all done ‘n’ done” she was so happy but became sad immediately, “this is not much; I need to collect more information.” now she saw the time and looked at her time table “it is 5:30, I have to go down to play...ah. I think it is all for today” 

Next morning after her school she sat thinking how will she collect information she needed for the story. She sat down thinking for hours and decided to ask her grandmother.

She asked her grandma “Grandma, can you tell me a story? I am getting bored sitting alone? Please tell me something about my mother.”

Grandma, “Once I told your mother to go and buy eggs and radish…I gave her Rs. 100, she took a bag and kept that hundred rupees note inside. Your mother had a neon cycle with black striped; she boarded it and paddles it till the park and she saw… Mahi fell asleep listening to the story.

After 2 and half hrs she woke up and sat in front of the computer and wrote everything she could remember. She wrote till she saw and got stuck “maybe I slept when grandma told this part” she was angry at herself and was also anxious to know what will happen next.

She ran to her grandma who was in the rocking chair reading a story book

“grandma please tell me what happened next please, please” pleaded Mahi.

“Fine, fine, fine I’ll tell you, so…...where was I?”

“You were on she saw”

“Yeah, she saw….” Grandma completed her story…

Mahi lowered her face and went with disappointment; not satisfied with the end; thinking how will she continue her adventure story. 

“Now how can I turn the story into something interesting; got more work to do…let me read what I wrote till now” mahi told herself.

She took her time to read the story and completed ther whole story after 2 hrs and was ready to submit it. At night, after dinner, Mahi decided to narrate the story to her parents. And here it goes…

What happened!

Once upon a time in Kosgi; lived a 10yr old girl, named Mahati. She was an ordinary girl like any of us. One day, her mother sent her to buy some grocery. She took her neon cycle rushed towards the ‘Bada mandi (shop)’ It was the a shopping complex near her place, where one can get anything under the sun, right from vegetables to books to safety pins to medicines to furniture. It took her about five minutes to choose a grocery shop. Right next to one she picked, there was another shop; named ‘Have strong, Be strong, Like Neil Armstrong’ and other was ‘Be healthy, Stay healthy, Have a Healthy life’. She was thinking “Which shop should I choose?” Finally, she picked ‘Have strong, Be strong, Like Neil Armstrong’, as she liked the name… she bought the list her mother gave and paddled all the way back home. That night her mother cooked Aloo fry which turned out to be as crispy as French fries. she loved it a lot, enjoying the fry in her plate, Mahati started narrating her adventure story to her brother!

“Bhai, you know what happened? When I went to the Bada Mandi today and was about to buy the list that mama gave, I realized that my pocket had a hole and all my money fell down. I thought to return empty handed? But was afraid if mom will scold me for losing 200 rupees? with no grocery? Then something shiny stuck my eyes and I found find out a 10-rupee coin lying on the floor...and another one…hmm… another. And I saw a line of 10-rupee coins lined up. Picking up, one after another, I found a big box full of money. 

I searched for the right owner of the box, and there was no luck. I pulled the box to my cycle, but it is night already. Seeing that it is dark, I picked up my phone called mom and told her the whole story! She came running for me.  I showed her the box that was filled with money. When she looked at it, and found that there was a bomb! And she fainted and now I was so scared and closed my eyes and started shivering, not knowing what to do…. I gained some courage, picked up my phone and dialed the police. The police came, along with the bomb squad, took us out of that place, asked us some questions. Finally, after sometime, they sorted out everything.

Thanking God! I and mom started back home on the neon cycle. While coming back, I found my lost 200 rupees note, just in the front basket of my cycle. Then I remembered, I myself kept in the cycle basket and not in my pocket! If not for that money, I wouldn’t never have got into so much trouble.” Listening to the whole story, Mahati’s brother and her father praised her for being bold and handling the situation bravely. The police called up the next morning to tell them that Mahati will be given a bravery award for handling the situation with courage.”

Concluding her story, Mahi continued stating the moral of her story. 

“The Moral of the story is – ‘Whatever happens is for good’”

“Maa, Paa, Granny - so how is the story” asked Mahi.

“Good” replied all of them. “Now go and sleep. It is already too late” exclaimed her Mom.

Mahi slept with full of excitement that she could write something out of the box. She was sure that she will win the contest tomorrow. 

Next morning, she woke up very early, got ready all by herself, without any reminders from her mother. She was completely excited to submit the story in the school. But when she reached there, she found that she forgot her book at home!!!