The Little Drama!

Part 1:

Small town of Rangur is preparing itself to sleep for the night. Most of the people in the town, worked in nearby factories. The town has its factories and market places towards east and most of the houses towards west, near the lake side. The sun had long gone by now!

“Aye”, shouted Ravi alarming his friends.

“Yeah”, replied Vinay responding on behalf of everyone around who is packing their things to leave school for home.

“I am going to market to get Empty maps for tomorrow Geography class”, Said Ravi.

“It’s already late buddy”, said Venkat, entering into the conversation.

“We gave excuses for last three days, its better we get them today”, said Pardhu giving a boost some to Ravi.

“Yeah! Let’s go, we better hurry, the shop may be closed”, said Ravi.

The four boys packed their books in a hurry, loaded them on their cycle's and rode towards the book shop. The shop is not too far away but they had to travel opposite direction, to get back homes. They began to talk about ongoing cricket matches to get their minds free from day-long tiredness. Most of the shops are already closed. They moved forward, hoping that the book stall remains open. To their luck, the book stall was open! The shop glowed in the darkness of the long and empty roads. The yellow street lights, added to its beauty. The boys looked at each other with a smile.

They asked the shopkeeper for the maps. He asked them to wait and went inside to fetch them.

Venkat looked towards the road, sensing the breeze and the beauty of street lights. The roads almost felt dried up – Some trucks, waiting here and there, taking some rest on their long journey. He saw a small kid, near a pole towards his left. He may be six or seven, thought Venkat. The cuteness in his face is mesmerizing, felt Venkat. The boy was holding the pole and trying to play with it. He did not even notice Venkat. Venkat moved towards the boy. Venkat tried to pinch the cheeks of the boy. The boy moved away, trying to resist.

“What’s your name?” asked Venkat, trying to make the boy feel comfortable.

The boy did not reply. He stared at Venkat’s face with a stubborn look.

“Hey”, said Venkat politely, demanded an answer to his question. The boy looked into Venkat’s eyes and said, “Swaraj, Aswin Swaraj!” adding a bit of filmy touch to it. Venkat smiled at the boy’s attitude. He liked the boy’s name but did not say it.

The other boys collected the empty maps from shopkeeper and began to adjust them in their bags. Vinay, looked at the kid, his charm pulled him immediately, moved towards the kid.

“Hey, who are you superstar?!”, said Vinay, adding some energy into the situation.

The boy did not reply. He looked towards Vinay with an amusement on his face. Vinay leaned down, getting himself closer to the boy.

“Is shopkeeper your father?” enquired Vinay.

The boy nodded his head, indicating - NO.

“Where are you parents”

“In my village”

”Is anyone present with you now?”

“No”

“Where is your village?”

“Far, Far, Far, Fahr Away”, said the boy leaving all the boys in surprise.

Ravi rushed towards Shopkeeper and asked him, if he knew the boy. Shopkeeper said, “I don’t know who he is. He has been here for last 2 hours, playing around that pole.” Ravi said this to others. Everyone looked into each other’s face. Vinay asked the boy, “Don’t lie. Tell me is anyone with you?”

The boy, with his sweet voice replied, “No brother, I am not lying. My uncle left me near the school and went back to village.”

The boys did not understand the situation completely.

“What is your school name?” asked Vinay

“I don’t know”

There are approximately twenty schools around the place with hostel facilities.

“Do you know the way to your school, why did you leave your school?” Vinay poured questions onto the boy. The boy looked frightened. He looked at other boys and said, “Brother, My uncle left me in front of the school and went away immediately”. The boy stopped. “Then?!” said Ravi.

“But by then, my school gates are closed. I shouted but no one responded. I walked towards bus station for my uncle, I could not find him.”

“Then, how did you come here?!” asked Ravi.

“He must have missed his way” said Vinay.

The boy fell into the arms of Vinay. The boy felt a need for a hug, he has been brave for a while but lost his hope by now! The boys stood there for a while, without talking. Nobody knew what to do.

“We must find his parents”, said Vinay breaking the silence. “How can we?! The boy seems to know nothing of their where about!” said Ravi.

“Ok! Then tell me, what can we do?!” demanded Vinay.

A moment of silence broke again. They were all confused. Never faced such a situation!

“I think, we should take the boy to the police station.” said Venkat with his own voice appreciating his idea.

“POLICE!!” said other boys with a feeling of surprise on their faces. Fear filled in their hearts. Venkat smiled.

“No No” said Ravi, with a voice filled with fear.

Vinay said, “What’s wrong in that? They will take care of the boy. They can publish an advertisement in paper, TV so that his parents can know about the boy”

Other boys felt Vinay was right but the fear for police stopped them from saying anything. They had no reason to be afraid of police but still they cannot avoid it. “He is right” said Venkat. Other boys nodded their head in agreement.

“Will you come with us?”, Vinay asked the Boy.

Vinay nodded his head, with a little bit of doubt in his mind! He felt that it is his best option at that point of time.

The boys got on to their cycles. The boy sat along with Vinay. Vinay gave his bag to Venkat, who took it, with his face turned red. Other boys laughed at Venkat!

“Which standard are you in?” asked Ravi.

“I … I twenty class” said the boy exaggerating his standard. The boys laughed at his innocence.

None of them visited a police station before. They are quite familiar with police, thanks to numerous movies but never interacted with one! It started to drizzle a bit by then. They rode quickly to avoid any rain. They were carrying books – it gave them reason to ride fast.

Police station had all its lights lit, the gate are broad open, felt as if they are inviting them in. The boys stopped their cycles in front of the gate and walked in. They stopped in front of the main gate.

Venkat called, “Sir Sir.” Nobody replied. Ravi took his turn to call.

A man dress in civilian dress came out. He asked, “What do you want.” His voice filled terror in the atmosphere. Nobody said a word for a moment.

Vinay spoke breaking the silent, “Sir, we found this boy, roaming in streets. He lost his way from home.”

“Ok, send him inside” said the man, he did not care for much details. Ravi said, “Go inside”, giving him some push. Vinay said, “Wait!” He opened his bag, pulled out some sweets and gave them to the boy and said, “Take care, we will come tomorrow.” He decided, I need to come back tomorrow and check, if he had reached his home safely. They rushed out of the police station. Nobody spoke after that. They left for their homes, with their hearts filled with joy of accomplishment. Vinay was the only one who had his mind still on the boy!!

Part 2:

The last night is still in their memories. Vinay felt deeply connected with the boy. They sat in their class waiting for their teacher to come.

A police constable came to the school. He is unique in his figure. He had a thin body but unusually fat belly. The peon rushed toward him and asked him about the purpose of his arrival. The constable explained. Peon came to the class room and shouted, “Who is the one who took a child from Hanuman Bookstall last night?”

The felt a sudden feels of amusement. They did not understand. They were all confused. Vinay stood up, while the rest were still gazing at each other’s face and said, “WE” with a stiff voice. His voice reflected the pride of good work they had done last night. Others to stood, with their minds filled with some kind of doubt. They could sense it, something is wrong.

“Come out”, said the constable. The boys followed.

“Where is the boy?” demanded the constable. Boys felt alarmed and surprised. “The Boy!!” They screamed. “Yes, the Boy” clarified constable.

“We left him at the police station last night” said Venkat. “Yes” added others.

“Police station?!” It was the constable’s turned to feel the amazement. “You won’t speak a word, if I ask politely. Move to the station.” Said the constable.

Surprise, Terror – Fear filled their hearts and environments. The peon who was listening to this, the whole time, rushed to the constable and said, “Saab, they are good boys”

“Let the inspector decide that! Move!” said the constable, whipping his lati in the air.

The boys moved in terror. They boarded the police vehicle for the first time. It was an old jeep. May be from a decade ago. They could not even speak among themselves. They don’t have doubt on each other. They knew the truth. They did not do any wrong, they will freed in no time – The thought kept them going! All their classmates watched as the jeep pushed itself onto the road. They could see their classmates talking among themselves, teachers gathering around. They turned famous in a flash.

They knew the path to the police station. They tried to talk with one another but could not. They are scared.

The station is unusually busy now unlike last night. There could see police and people coming there to express their grievances. The cells are mostly empty except one, which had two persons. The boys could not concentrate on what was happening around. Their minds are pre-occupied. Constable asked them to sit on a table and went inside. He returned after some time but did not speak to them. He went out. The boys looked around. They were left in a confused state. The constable did seem to be in a hurry.

After about an hour, parents of the boys gathered at the station.  The boys got up from their seats. The parents were stopped near the gate. Tears rolled in Ravi’s eyes. Others tried to look stubborn. Inspector came out and talked to the parents. He seemed to have asked them to wait outside.

The parents settled themselves in the chairs outside the station. The boys too settled. Time passed along. Parents seemed to be interacting with every other official arriving at the station.

The thoughts of the boys filled their minds. Where has he gone? They left him at the station last night, how come he is not in here. They could not even find the police person, who was at the station last night.

About 2’o clock in the noon, the station settled for lunch. No one cared for the boys. By now, they were completely exhausted. The fear is lost!

They felt that, sun is not willing to see them suffer, it is already settling for the night. The constable returned. He went straight into the inspector’s room. He returned and called the boys inside.

The boys went inside. They are completely exhausted of even fear. The inspector was standing with his right arm over the desk. He said, “Boys, you may leave now.” The boys looked into each other’s face. They were surprised. No Questions, No enquiry, No arguments... No court. They are more of startled than happy.

Their hearts filled with relief but their minds did not adjust to the situation. They were expecting some high drama since they were brought into the station. It all ended in void.

Vinay said, “What happened to the boy?”

“He is safe. He was with the night constable.” said the inspector.

“What!?” said Vinay.

“You can leave now”, said the inspector.

They understood what had happened. The night constable must have taken the boy to his home or somewhere to search for the boy’s parents. The boy’s parents completely unaware of the situation must have filled a missing case. The Bookstall keeper must have said the police that, the boys took the kid, which ultimately made the boys walk into the station.

The constable took the boys outside and said to their parents, who were waiting outside, “You may take your boys now” Fathers tried to ask on what happened but mothers did not allow them. They are overwhelmed, their children are safe and free and rushed out of station. Husbands had to follow, as always!!

Part 3 :

The boys met after their long bath and dinner.

“So, we are done with our little adventure”, said Venkat.

“Yeah! There isn’t a great story in there”, said Vinay.

“What do you mean, you wanted police to beat us up, so that there is a lot of story”, said Ravi thinking Vinay is being stupid.

“No. I don’t want that!” said Vinay, “Did you see, how surprised our class mates are – when police took us from school”

“Yeah” said Pardhu.

“We were heroes then!” Said Vinay

“Now that, police left us, without even a fight, we are normal again!!” said Pardhu.

“Who knows, what happed in the station?!” said Vinay.

“Nobody – Not even mamma-papa” said Pardhu. “Yes”, added Venkat.

“So it’s up to us!” said Vinay.

The boys came close to each other to put down a story, to exaggerate their little drama into a larger one! They had already started to feel “Accomplished!” of their adventure. They will be hero's in no-time!!