S - The Young Boy And His Values

S who is in his 5th grade lives along with his 2 elder brothers in a joint family. He has a grandfather who was retired and is quite old. His father had stopped working and the same was the case with his drunkard father’s brother. His mother’s younger brother is also a drunkard lives with them as he is incapable of getting a job and sticking to it. S’s mother is the only person who tries to keep a stable job by working as a House maid for a OBGYN.

Her job requires her to be there before the clinic opens for public at 10. That’s why she leaves home by 8 as she needs to walk till her workplace, and she cooks for the whole family before she leaves. She comes back only after 6 and the first thing she does is to draw water from the well to wash the clothes. Once done with washing clothes, she prepares dinner and washes all the utensils before going to sleep at 11. This goes on a repeat mode. Again, her day starts at 5am and she is going through the whole grind again & again.

S watches this silently and wishes that he could do something to support the family. He does his fair bit of help while washing clothes or sometimes by washing the dishes. Yet, he can only do so much and puts his heart into studies. He sometimes wakes up at 3am because he has got a test and needs to ace it. This shows his attitude towards life and the hard work that he is willing to invest in life. There are times where he stares at other families where the father comes home from work and brings treats along with him. This doesn’t bother him much because in his life, his mom is the one bringing him treats. He knows that she saves these treats being given to her by the families who were just distributing sweets to share their happiness at the OBGYN. Still it’s better than nothing; which is the case most of the days.

One evening, while walking back home he tries to kick a small rock and stumbles forward. While trying to gain his balance, he notices a polythene which seems to have been folded as if it has some papers stacked. Out of curiosity, he steps into the small opening of the wall and picks up the cover. Not sure what to expect, he slowly peeps in and starts getting excited after looking at the contents of the bag. He sees that this bag as a big stack of money all pulled together with a rubber band. His joy knows no bounds and he starts to think of all the things he can buy with this money.

First, he needs to count it and without anyone noticing him. Forgetting the scrapes that he has had on his knees because of the fall, he rushes home. After dropping his school bag he rushes to a quite corner of his home and starts counting the money. He counts twice and thrice as he can’t believe it that this cover has 1lakh rupees. He is thrilled and is shivering with joy. He wants to buy so many things like new clothes, a bicycle, and a new saree for his mom. But then, his conscience starts to get the better of him saying that he needs to return the money to it’s rightful owner. On the other hand, he knows that this money could better their present lifestyle by a bit.

As he starts to become more and more unsure of what he needs to with the money; he waits for his mom to return. That day, his mom is not back home at the usual time and this gets S worried. “Did something happen to my mom because I took this money?” with no valid reason for him to think so but his thoughts are here there everywhere.

Finally, S’s mom comes home little late in the night looking completely tired. S offers her water and sits next to her while holding her hand. He asks her the reason for her delay, and she says “My drunkard brother sold his kidney without telling anyone to repay the debts which he took from the loan sharks. He gave that money to your father’s brother as he couldn’t be discharged from hospital yet. Your father’s brother being a drunkard; fell in the nearby gutter along with the money. Because he fell near our house, our neighbors picked him up and brought him home without realizing that he had dropped the bundle of money. I’m no worried that we have lost the money and my brother lost his kidney for nothing”

S is shocked and starts feeling dizzy. All his dreams of using the money for buying things for his home fade away like smoke being carried away by the wind. He stands up and walks inside his home. After a minute he comes out and brings out the bundle of money that he found. He hands it over to his mother and tells her that he found the money. He thought of buying many things with it but never realized that it’s blood money. S’s mom hugs the boy and tells him that he is doing the right thing. She tells him that god puts us in these situations to build our character. 

“When you’re the only one in a room with money on the table; what you do next is a mirror about your values in life”

S walks with heart that’s now light hearted just like his mom’s who is at ease because the loan sharks can be paid of.