Its a little story...

Here is a short story i wrote....


The Wish


“There are two kinds of people in the world, the good and the bad. I know this because I am 5 years old and my patti told me so. I am already going to 1st standard and I can spell all the big words like ‘discipline’. Meenachi patti taught me all the big words. The house is all quiet now, it has been so from last Friday, I know it was Friday because they were showing Heidi on TV, its Friday now too but Amma is not allowing me to watch TV. She says we should not do anything for some time now because we are mourning. They are cleaning patti’s room because Amma says she is dead. “ Neena was chatting continuosly as usual to Shanmugam Chittapa , it was a relief that the child has not been affected by the death of her grandmother. Shanmugam Chittapa is Neena’s mother’s uncle and he is stone deaf. Neena had been very close to her patti, her father’s mother. Meenachi patti has been a widow since Jaganathan was a little boy, then he married Neena’s mother Shantha before finishing college against Meenachi’s wishes.

Neena was getting bored now and to add to her woes mother had scolded her for making a rukus in the house.” Mother has been acting strange after the death of patti, she chucked to herself because she knew the truth, her patti hadn’t died. She had gone to heaven. Patti told her already that she was going to heaven and all good people went to heaven and that everyone was happy in heaven. But her mother who never talked to patti before last Friday was crying , everyone was crying. They sang songs and all and there was music too, when got exited and danced, mother shouted at me. It was all so funny and father as usual was shaking and talking to himself. He had that coco cola bottle with him. He always became like this when he drank coco cola. Patti said I should never drink that stuff and I will not “ Neena was fast asleep.

It’s been a month since patti went to heaven and now it’s all as usual. Today I came back early from school. Last week lawyer mama came and read a letter written by patti , the group ups were all upset and were scolding patti because she gave them so little. Appa was very angry for he shouted till the roof came down. But I was happy for patti had already given me a gift before she went to heaven. She gave me box a magic box. I am never to open it until I am as big as next door Ruku akka. It was made of silver and it contained a mysterious stuff, her patti used to take something from it and put into her nose and then she will sneeze real hard. Whenever Neena asked her patti about the stuff in the box, she would say it had magic in it.

As her patti told, the box was really a magic box, if you close your eyes real tight and hold the box in your closed fist and wished for something you got it. She had wished for a new bag the other day and she got it. She has wished for gulab jamun last week and Amma had made it. She even wished that Janani would become her friend and they were close friends now. Everyone around her were starting to wonder how she got everything she wished for and she smiled within herself for she told her secret to none. It was her secret only”.

It was almost a year since Meenachi patti died and the house is a mess , thanks to Jagan, he is wasted. Last week the police came and there was a lot of commotion in the house. “When I came home today I went to the maadi room to get my books to leave for tuition and that’s when I saw father trying to insert his head into a rope hanging from the fan. I got real scared and started screaming and then everything became black”.

Neena knew why this was all happening, she knew it’s because; she had lost her magic box.” It had happened a day after Deepavalli when she went to play with Janani and her friends to the river shore. We were playing anju kal when a group of boys including Ravi came and started pestering them to get out of our place as they said they had marked that area for playing cricket. When I said I wont go, Ravi pushed me in the water I got all went lost my slippers . I came home crying and went straight to my room to find my wish box. I was going to wish that Ravi will disappear and go to hell when they fried everyone in big enna kadaais . Patti had told her that she should not wish any harm to anybody and if she did so it will make her bad. But she was only going to wish that bad Ravi would disappear that will not make her bad. Will it?” immersed in thoughts she searched for her magic box. When she was not able to find it even after half news was over she panicked. “Oh my God! the box is gone ! It’s because… of me? I wished for bad things, oh my God! Please forgive me. Patti , please forgive me” , Neena cried and was asleep.

After that things became really bad, her bag was torn, mother never prepared sweets nowadays and Janani went to town to study. “Everybody at house is crying, they say that father took something from his office and he had lost it. And they will send him to jail if he doesn’t return it.” Neena knew that if she got her magic box everything will be ok again, she ran to the pooja room . She knew that if she prayed enough to God and light a camphor God will give her magic box back. Neena was reaching for the camphor box in top shelf when a bundle fell to the floor. And out came tumbling from it her Magic box. She was overjoyed she took the box and went to her Amma. “Amma ! “ She trust the box in her mother’s hand and told her in all earnestness that if her mother “ Amma close your eyes and wish for anything ma, really ma it will come true this is magic box”. But Neena’s mother was so vexed and angry that she violently threw the snuff box of her late mother-in-law. And then she blinked.

“It was called diamond, that’s what came from my magic box. It was inside the brown powder in the magic box. And as I told you before, everything became alright at home. Now, I am going to get back everything good I wish for!” , Neena touched the little silver box in her pocket and smiled as she wished for those pretty red shoes she saw at the market.