This Short Story is written under the mentorship of Sneha Goel, the best English teacher in Guwahati.

 

Once there lived a middle-class boy whose name was Rohan. He lived in the big city of Mumbai in Maharastra with his little brother Vyom and his parents. He had a dream of becoming a doctor and helping people. For that, he studied hard. However, he was careless and clumsy. He also had a hobby of collecting different kinds of stones. 

One day he walked into his house after completing the coaching classes. He washed his hands and sat for dinner. 

His mother said, “You have an invite to a birthday party tomorrow.” 

“Whose birthday party is it?” 

“Rahul’s!” His mother replied while serving him his favourite paneer butter masala.

He nodded his head in excitement and ate four parathas. He had thought of the perfect gift and was excited to go to the party where he would meet all his old friends.

It was 9.30. He was playing chess with Vyom.

“How are your studies going on?”

Immediately he recalled something important and asked his mother, “When will the party start? Did he say?”

“1 pm!” His mother yelled while cleaning the utensils in the kitchen.

“Oh no! Why is it always me, God?”

“What happened? You are going to a birthday party. That’s good news. Why are you so upset?” Vyom looked at him with surprise.

“The birthday party is at 1 pm and at that time I have an important class.” 

Vyom understood everything. Rohan prioritized his studies more than a birthday bash. He would often cancel parties and get-togethers when they clashed with his classes. 

“Why don’t they keep it at night?” Rohan murmured and informed his mother that he would not be able to go.

The next day, he got ready for the classes. It was already 12.45 pm. In a hurry, he picked up his tuition bag which was lying next to his father’s bag.

“Why did you bring the same bags for us Mom? It is always confusing.”

“If you stop carrying those pebbles which you call lucky then probably a lighter bag would do for you. Besides, I got one free.”

“Bye, see you at 7.”

“I will get you a premium bag on the first day of your medical college till then manage with what I bought.”

“I will get rid of it myself. The bag is more heavy than my stone collection,” he murmured as he hurried out.

On the train, a thief snatched his bag and jumped out of the train.

Rohan jumped out of the train without thinking hurt his leg and got deep cuts. He was taken to a nearby emergency ward where the doctor said that his carelessness would have killed him had he gotten any head injury. 

With an upset mood, he came back home. 

His mother saw the bandages and ran towards him, “What happened to you?”

Rohan narrated the whole incident.

“You fool! You could have got yourself killed. What were you thinking that you jumped out of a moving train?” She sobbed.

“My lucky stones!”

“I am lucky to see you alive today. My Ganpati saved you not some damned stones.”

“Has anyone seen my bag?” Rohan’s father asked anxiously.

“It’s on the bed.” His mother said as she wiped her tears.

“This one is Rohan’s bag.”

Rohan and his mother froze as if a storm was about to come.

“What! Was there something important in the bag?” She asked in a trembling voice.

“Money of a client…It was full. I can’t say more. Now, find the bag or I am doomed.”

Rohan quietly came before his father and said, “I took that bag by mistake. It got stolen. I tried to catch the thief but I couldn’t.”

“You fool! How can you be a doctor? You will surely kill your patients.” He looked at Rohan in rage but did not hit him as he was already in bandages.

He turned to his wife, “It is all you’re doing. Same bags, huh? Now who will pay the money? You better be ready with all your savings hidden from me for this good-for-nothing son of yours. He does not deserve to be a doctor.”

She begged him to stop saying unkind words. She was already frightened by the news of her son’s near-death experience and now this. She fainted.

Just then, the doorbell rang. Rohan opened the door. It was the boss of his father. He looked around — a wounded boy, an unconscious lady, and an upset employee.

Before Rohan’s father said anything, he said, “That bag I gave you… wasn’t the bag with real money.”

“But sir that was client’s money! You gave it to me yesterday and asked me to hand it over to you today. You said you are going to a party and your driver is on leave.”

“You see sometimes I do that to check the loyalty of my employees. I was thinking of the perfect candidate for the position of Manager and I have seen your work. As a supervisor for fifteen years, you are detail-oriented and organized. I wanted you to take the post. But I think I went too far in testing your loyalty.”

“What do you mean sir?”

“I gave you a bag full of fake money but it seems to have landed you in some kind of trouble. I came here because I felt uneasy about what I did. I guess I did the right thing by coming here just in time.”

At last, everyone breathed freely and Rohan once again told everything to his father and the boss.

“Son, learn from your father. He has never been late to the office.” He then left their house.

“I am sorry. Please forgive me. I have been the worst husband and father today.” Rohan’s father looked at his wife and held her hands.

“Don’t do that! It was not your fault.” Meera went to the kitchen to bring the modaks she had offered to Lord Ganpati.

“You got a promotion. My son came back alive. What more do I need?” She offered modaks to all.

“And bhaiya, haste makes waste. Always remember. We learned this in the English class today.” Everybody laughed because he was correct.

Rohan learned a big lesson that day. 

Bio of the Writer, Hridhaan Kothari:

 

My name is Hridhaan Kothari. I study in class 6. The name of my school is the Green School International Guwahati. I like playing games more than studying; however one of my favourite hobbies is writing stories. I love sports and my favourite sport is cricket. My dream is to become a cricketer when I grow up.

Hridhaan Kothari has written this story under the mentorship of the best English teacher at Guwahati, Sneha Goel.

She is a British Council–certified IELTS trainer and Scholastic India–mentored short story writer. She is a published author, poet and diarist. Her reviews, blogs, poems, stories and thoughts are appreciated by writers of international repute. Apart from writing, she is passionate about teaching English to children. She teaches English grammar, literature, creative writing, academic writing, story writing, poetry writing and Spoken English to students from class 1 up to grown-ups. To know more about the best English teacher in Guwahati and the services provided by her institute, Young Story Weavers, click here.