Poem By Lakshita Jain

Being a small child, he took it very seriously. He started to ask everyone “Di-Did you see my parents?” Though he tried to hide his fear; it was visible in his voice.

“Are you lost little boy?” asked a man standing beside the boy.

“Yes, I can’t find my parents. They are lost!” said little Viraj, wiping his tears.

“Come with me,” said the man.

Viraj could trust him, as he was the only familiar face amongst many unfamiliar faces. The man then gave him chocolate to eat. Viraj was amazed by the flavorsome taste of chocolate. The nuts of the chocolate were popping in his mouth. He had never had such delicious chocolate before. He closed his eyes to taste the chocolate even better. When he opened his eyes, he saw that he was lying in a dark, smelly room. He saw a shelf on which many medicines were kept. He did not touch them as his mother has always warned him against them. Then he tried to listen to the voices that came from outside. But nothing was audible. After some time, the man came with a brown packet and threw it towards the boy, and said, “This is your food, have it or else you’ll starve.”

When the man went out of the secret room, he heard the guards of the apartment talking to each other, “Tomorrow is Dashami, we shall drink Jou Bishi (a famous liquor of Assam).” It was the voice he faintly remembered but was not so sure whose.

“I have already bought the liquor, we shall drink it together,” Viraj heard another man say.

“Why do these voices sound familiar?” Viraj murmured to himself.

The kidnapper smiled with glory as it had made his work easier. Viraj was up to something and didn’t even open the packet. He started to think of a way to get out, while he climbed over the shelf, he saw two rats coming from under the shelf. He was terrified of rats and climbed down with heavy heart and moist eyes. After some time, he felt very hungry and couldn’t control his hunger. So he went, took the brown packet and opened it, he was surprised to see a burger inside it. Though it was his favorite food, he didn’t wish to have it initially but had to put it inside his stomach to calm his hunger. After having it he slept on the ground itself. It was rough and uneven, but he managed and didn’t even complain to himself. The next morning, he woke up from the sound of rats squeaking here and there. While all this was taking place his parents were worried about him and had even filed a complaint at the police station to find their son. But nothing seemed to work out. On the other hand, Viraj was terrified of rats and climbed on the shelf sobbingly. Though scared he decided to fight his fears.

His mother once told him, “ You are very brave and strong.”

He then tried to hear the noise that came from above the ceiling. He put a stool on the shelf and tried to hear the voices.  He immediately recognized the voice and realized that it was his own flat under which the secret room was built. He started to think of ways to get out of the rusty room.

“I heard that you are a very smart creature; you can even smell cheese, can you help me find the way out,” said Viraj anxiously.

The rat squeaked and ran away. Viraj was very tired by then and hungry too, that he had been given nothing to eat except that burger in the morning which he gulped without even tasting it.  So, he drank some water and went to sleep. The next morning, he woke up rubbing his eyes. The man bought him breakfast in a brown packet again. He threw it toward Viraj and showed him no sympathy. Viraj picked up the packet and ate it as soon as the man banged the door and went out. Now he didn’t like the man whom he had trusted before. After his hunger pangs no longer distracted him, he started to think of a way to make his parents aware that he had been kept in a room under their own flat. He shouted many times but it all went in vain.

“What a day it is, I can’t go to my own house even being just under it,” Viraj murmured.

When nothing seemed to work out, he started singing ‘Raghupati Raghav’. His mother being a harmonium player has composed the famous ‘Raghupati Raghav’ by Mahatma Gandhi in her own tune. This composition, she used to sing to him every night and Viraj would go to sleep hearing her melodious voice. Viraj sang the bhajan to calm himself and fight his fear.

Fortunately, his mother was crying in his room which was just above the secret room. She instantly recognized her son’s voice and called his father to confirm.  Then they called the police. The police further investigated and found the secret room in the basement where Viraj was kept and also the man who kidnapped him was caught and thrown in jail. He had rented a godown in the apartment recently and was following Viraj to kidnap him for ransom. He was waiting for the police inquiry to stop before calling for ransom but his plans didn’t work out.

Viraj’s parents were overwhelmed after seeing their child. They hugged him tightly. Viraj was very happy and narrated to them the whole story and promised never to leave their hand in a crowd.

“You are a brave and strong boy.” Viraj’s mother kissed his forehead.

“God helps those who help themselves.”

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The Magical Pendant

In the middle of the snow, hills and tall trees; was standing a small girl Shaheen. She lived in Gulmarg, a small beautiful town in Kashmir gifted with natural and scenic beauty. She was a jolly girl who often talked, smiled and roamed around until she found out that her mother was in the fourth stage of cancer. She was broken into pieces and started to spend most of her time with her mother. But it was time and her mother passed away. She cried her heart out. Time passed, but she could not get out of the grief of her mother’s sudden demise. Her father was a very supportive one. He took immense care of her just like her mother. Her father was the only one with whom she felt comfortable and relaxed.

“Abba Abba! You know today, I lost a pen of mine and a new girl ‘Smriti’ gave me the pen,” said Shaheen as she returned from school. “She also talks and chatters with me a lot,” Shaheen added.

“Oh really! You must thank her then,” said her father.

“Ok Abba, and also can you please give me some chocolates I want to give them to her as my birthday is coming,” said Shaheen cheerfully.

Her father nodded and went quietly back into the room. It seemed as if he was thinking of something as he looked a little tense. But Shaheen didn’t care about it much. A few days passed and it was Shaheen’s 10th birthday. Everyone except Shaheen was very happy and celebrated to their fullest. Shaheen was missing her mother a lot. Her father and Smriti cheered her up. She was then feeling a little better. She cut her cake. When the party was over, Shaheen and her father bid farewell to Smriti. After Smriti went, her father took out a mysterious black shiny box that he gave to her and said, “ Before dying, your mother told me to give this box to you on your 10th birthday. She said, ‘Take this box and give it to my little angel on her 10th birthday and tell her that I’ll always be with her.’ I still remember these golden words that your mother said while taking her last breath.”

She opened the box with teary eyes. As soon as she opened it, a blue light came out of it and sparkled. When she peeked into the box she saw a necklace with a blue pendant in the middle. She loved it and realized that it was the stone that her mother used to wear. She immediately put it around her neck and it started to shine more. She went and hugged her father, and they both sobbed endlessly. She then started to wear the necklace to school and everywhere she went. She felt very energetic and full of enthusiasm when she wore that necklace as if it poured love and embraced her with love and care just like her mother. Unknown of the fact that the pendant was a magical one and it had been protecting her from evil and gave her energy, she was also not aware that she was being watched on by an evil soul, Aftaaf. Aftaaf knew that the pendant has some magical powers and was a very precious gem. He knew that it would benefit him a lot in his wrongful works. He wanted to destroy a whole village and make people obey his orders. He kept an eye on Shaheen every day as she went to school and came back.

He thought to catch Shaheen and snatch her pendant, on a suitable day in the school itself. And the wait was over for Aftaaf, it was the day to start and finish his plan. He took off from his home exactly 20 mins before Shaheen’s sports period started. He reached the school in 10 mins and waited for the bell to ring. As soon as the bell rang, Shaheen and Smriti came out from the class for the sports period. After some time, Shaheen felt thirsty, so she went to the class to drink water. This was the time for Aftaaf to make his plan successful. So, he jumped into the class from the window and snatched her pendant. His plan had worked, he was overwhelmed with joy. But what he didn’t know was that Shaheen was also following him.

Shaheen, being so passionate about her mother’s pendant was ready to sacrifice her life for it. She followed him everywhere, he went and entered a dark forest. Shaheen was a bit scared so she called the police and her father for help. She entered the forest and hid behind a tree. She saw that Aftaaf went into a dark scary cave. She did not dare to enter the cave. After some time, she saw that Aftaaf was coming out of the cave. So now she gathered her guts and went inside the cave. As soon as she entered, the doors shut automatically. She panicked. Now she had to finish only one last job which was to find her pendant. She searched and searched but found nothing. Until she noticed a blue shiny light that was coming from behind a large rock, she was stunned to see that it was her pendant that shone so brightly. She took it and wore it immediately. She was mesmerized by the beauty of the charm. But as she started to walk towards the door, came Aftaaf.

“Oh! You little girl you came till here for this pendant but now you wouldn’t be able to escape from me,” growled Aftaaf.

“I have my mother’s blood, you fellow. I can do anything,” said Shaheen. She started to run towards the door but tripped at a stone.

Aftaaf ran from there and tried to take her pedant out. Shaheen got up and hid behind a large rock.

“You won’t be able to hide from me. You little girl!” said Aftaaf angrily. He went there and dragged Shaheen to the middle of the cave and was just going to snatch her necklace and kill her when the police and her father entered the cave.

“How dare you thought of killing my daughter?” shouted Shaheen’s father angrily.

The police came and arrested Aftaaf, they also found some gold and precious stone that were stolen from the villagers. Shaheen got her necklace back. Her father and Shaheen hugged each other tightly and they lived happily ever after.

“MOTHERS LOVE, NO MATTER FAR OR NEAR, PROTECTS THE CHILD FOREVER AND EVER.”