The Danger

in #fiction3 years ago

“How many times have I told you not to leave food?”

The boy of about ten looked at his mother in silence. “A hundred times,” she continued. “I told you so many times, but you never listened. Honestly, only you can be this stupid.”

Their five neighbours stared at the new family. The family consisted of two parents, and three sons: the ten year old, the six year old and the newborn. The house was in a village outside Delhi, with not many people around. The closest neighbour was at a distance of ten metres. Thus, the people standing there were the only witnesses to the scolding.

This was not an argument. The mother was indifferent, almost sad, maybe even close to tears. Her son looked away, or sometimes at his father. The father looked equally sad. The boy lived with the father since his mother refused to stay with the three sons. Thus, even though the father was generally not at home, the thought, “This is the mother. I’m the son and she’s the mother. She’s the only mother I have”, was engraved in him. He was in fact resentful of his mother, but he knew he needed to listen to her.

The neighbour wondered what was keeping the father away. Why didn’t he talk to the mother?

Eddie, the ten year old child, had been left three hours ago by his father. His father didn’t say anything, but he took his food and placed it in Eddie’s backpack. His father had then hugged him and asked him to stay safe. Then he left.

But Eddie was not a fool. He could not fight with the rest of the world. But he knew that he was capable of something. He knew that he could do something. He had heard of stories of those who could do more than one person, and even more than ten persons. He smiled. That’s it. He had an idea.

He peeked into his backpack. The food was still there. Good. Then he took it out and followed him parents to the path. He thought of the place where his father had placed the food. It was a railway station. The place where his father had placed the food used to be filled with the crowd and darkness. Now, it was both dangerous and crowded. His father had told him the plan. There would be one bag of food for every day of one week. So every day, he would have to go to the station and take away the bag of food and replace it with another bag of food. The one who left the food initially would be told this plan too. The one who left the food would not come every day. That was where the danger was.

What else would there be that was more dangerous?

He reached the station and began to look for the right compartment. Fortunately, it was not that hard to find. A few minutes after entering the station, he had already located the place. No one was there! But where would the bag be? Where was the entrance? He quickly walked around, looking for the entrance. There were a few electric poles, with the electric wire going up them. He was afraid. After sometime, a man came and asked him what he was doing there. There was no food in the boy’s backpack, as he knew he had to place it in the bag of food. He was secretly terrified of being caught and thrown into an unknown place.

He looked at the man. He was not the person who he had met in his previous visit! Eddie ran out of the station. Only when he was far out of sight did he stop. He knew what had to be done. He had to go into the station again. It was during the day, and there was no risk of dying. It was time to put his plan into action.

He entered the station. He searched for the same place with the same care. It was 8PM. The crowd was gone, and it was safe to place the bag there. He saw the bag and placed it there. As soon as the bag was placed in there, a man came from nowhere.

“Hey, you! What are you doing here? I have to tell the foreman. Come!”

The boy said nothing. The man walked away with the bag of food. The boy breathed a sigh of relief.

What was he supposed to do with that food after the people found out? The problem was the truth. The truth would be revealed right after the week was over. He would have to stay in the fastest train. The people would easily get the medicine even without the foreman. They would figure out the truth and tell it all over the country.

Eddie knew that people couldn’t understand the truth immediately.

As soon as the man was gone, he ran out of the station and took the path towards his home.

He thought of what was going to happen after the man tells the foreman. He didn’t want the people to know what he knew. He didn’t want them to know why he did this. The story would be about the bad boy of the village, who stole the food. Because only he knew what had been happening. He wanted to keep it hidden.

He came home and ate his food.



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