Children Short Story – Unlucky by superstition
Photo credit: alive from morguefile.com
It was 2 AM in the early morning, when a faint knock struck Swapnil’s house’s main door. Swapnil in his sleep almost thinking it to be his dream was about to continue his nap when he heard the same faint knock the second time. Swapnil now becoming sure just lit his bed side lamp and with his half closed eyes glared at his table clock. Quite astonished seeing the time though, about who could have just arrived at this point of time in early morning, approached towards the main door to check out, rubbing his eyes.
Just standing near the door Swapnil whisperingly asked “Who?”
The only other voice from the opposite side of the door just whispered too, “Swapnil, its Bhanu here, please open the door.”
Swapnil quite amazed, slowly opened the door and saw a man fully covered in blanket was standing. Swapnil still unable to become quite sure whether that really was Bhanu, tried to peep inside the blanket. The man immediately understanding the problem, removed the cover from his face himself and then seeing Swapnil a bit satisfied after his suspicion, went inside without wasting any more time.
On entrance Bhanu instead of requesting Swapnil, himself hurriedly shut closed the door and told, “Sir, I am in great trouble and so I am here. Please dont keep the door opened for long. Dont know if someone sees me!!! I believe noone has noticed me while I was coming. Its because of this that I found no other suitable time to come to you. I know if not all, atleast you wont be like others.”
Telling, Bhanu just burst into cry. Seeing this Swapnil was a bit surprised and so held Bhanu and took him to his drawing room. Then making him seat on the sofa, just wiped off his tears and offered him a glass full of water.
Bhanu taking a couple of sips from it continued, “Swapnil, this incident is very new. So I believe you might not have got any knowledge of this. I still remember the day, when I was in the tea shop and Rahul was entering the tea shop. He unexpectedly slipped on the mud in front of the shop and fell down. Dont know what happened next to him? Instead of acting like a matured guy, he started telling, “Yes I was indeed suspecting and noticing this for now quite some days but was unable to become sure without any proof. Now I got so. I would spread this to all whom I know, in this locality, immediately. This Bhanu is an unlucky. He is unlucky for all. Anyone who will even come in contact with his shadow would have his whole rest of the day bad going.” Telling he went away.
Now Swapnil you know that we still have people in our locality, who likes believing in these superstitions, gets entertained and pass away time gossiping about those in these modern days. Also since I am a bit sufferer from many aspects like I dont have any relatives, I dont have a job, I live in a poor hut, this message spreaded like fire. Now also you know that God has sent us in this world to struggle and make our living. So people would have some failures and some success in this struggling part. And that too each and everyday.
So peoples also automatically started believing that whatever failure they have for the day is because that they saw me. Even at times people jokingly to take revenge on some used to make me stand in front of that person. And in turn that person without telling anything to the other guy who made me stand, started beating me as why I did stand in front of him and that he had to look at me. I just gradually became fun pass time too of people. I had no prestige, no weightage left with myself. So Dost, I also gradually stopped coming out of my house in normal hours. I thought as I dont have any job, so wont be a problem. So I come out just during this night time. But tell me Dost how long? I also want to chat with others. I also need to go to market to buy food for myself, which wont be there at this night. Moreover I also keep all my house’s doors and windows closed the whole day. I have forgotten when I last saw sun rays. I have even forgotten its taste, how it looks.”
Telling this, Bhanu continued weeping.
Swapnil put one of his arm on Bhanu’s shoulder and drawing him nearer said, “Dont cry Yaar. We must have some solution to this. Now this is completely people’s belief which we need to uproot. The more we would continue them to continue, it would get deeply rooted, even though you stop coming out of your house. They might well still continue to have their regular failures and successes. After somedays it would be even worse that they would not allow you to stay in your house itself. So what exactly we need to do here is to make them belief that they are wrong, or make them unbelieve their beliefs, come out of those. And for that they need to pass time with you and see that yes good things indeed also happen when you are in front of them. This would be enough if shown to few. Then it would flow from them to all as it has flown in opposite case, may be not that fast but a bit slowly. But that would again indeed make the difference I believe.”
To this Bhanu said, “But how would you make that itself possible that some people only would agree to pass time with me?”
Swapnil said, “See in this case forcibly nothing could be done. We have to do something that they themselves come and speak and pass time with you of their own. So naturally how much percentage of people would also come is not a big deal or not known.”
Bhanu seeing some light of success, wiping his rest of the tears on his cheeks, sat properly and started looking at Swapnil, in an expectation that Swapnil would now tell him his plan.
Swapnil then indeed let him know his plan. It was completely clear that Swapnil himself want to make an active participation in solving this and doing most of the things needed.
Next day in the early morning Swapnil was present right there in the tea shop. As time passed some known faces and some unknown faces started gathering in the tea shop. Swapnil finding out a suitable time and situation among that and collecting few known, important peoples, who could in actual be responsible again for making Bhanu get back his position in the society started telling casually, “You all know this Bhanu?”
All at once shouted, “O that unlucky brat, you mean to say?”
Swapnil as if not quite sure why unlucky pretended and said, “Unlucky? What are you saying? I dont believe this? Do you know, this Bhanu plays lottery?”
One said, “So what else would a person who has noone as relatives nor a job could do more?”
Another said, “And I am damm sure that he has not won anytime also. He’s indeed that unlucky.”
Swapnil then just stood up and to enforce said, “Yes yes there is the fact. He might play because he has noone nor a job just to pass time and looking to earn something by chance. But as you all guys are telling he is unlucky, unlucky for others, unlucky for himself as well, but see he has won 1 crore rupees in a lottery now. Still now would you guys tell him he is unlucky?”
One said, “1 crore? I cant believe this? Ok, so he might not be that unlucky for himself but surely for others. The day when he would be there and we would still have good time, I would believe he is lucky for others as well. But who’s going to take that risk to experiment after so many already suffered troubles?”
Another said, “So see God also makes all laugh. The one who doesnt need gets all and the one who needs, gets nothing.”
Swapnil again said, “There lies the second fact. I never knew or believe in these Unlucky stories. So naturally I went to his house and then I came to know this. Then talking for some more time with him I came to know that Bhanu thinks, since he is bornt poor and never tasted aristrocacy ever in his life, so a very very small portion of this huge amount would actually do for him for rest of his life, say around 50 thousand.
Now since he has noone as relatives, he thought of distributing the rest of the amount among the locality, which still would be a fair amount indeed as you know, for each family. But there also a problem was there. Since all believes that he is unlucky for all, if he gives the amount to all, then also instead of becoming happy, enjoying, they would suffer. So at last he has decided to donate the rest of the amount to a charity and buy in some blessings, as again he believes that God has sent each one of us in this world to do some good. Now since he could not do that much, he would compensate in this matter.”
Another immediately said, “So why charity. He would buy in the same blessings if he distributes the amount among us.”
Swapnil immediately said, “Yes but then again as I said, he doesnt want anyone to suffer and since that you all believe him to be unlucky, he believes that his money would also prove to be unlucky for you all.”
Its then, that happened, what Swapnil wanted. People just went to Bhanu’s house, brought him out and started making Bhanu their regular part of life. Whatever they used to do, they used to involve Bhanu in that. They never told the reason for this to Bhanu, but discussed among themselves. They just wanted Bhanu to become happy on them, and start believing that they nomore believe him to be unlucky for them and give them the amount. This spreaded again like fire and people of other localities also started participating in this mission.
Swapnil kept a minute watch on the whole thing and then finding one good situation announced a local function, and that Bhanu would donate his amount to all there.
Everyone was right present there that day on time. After few cultural programmes, when it was turn of Bhanu to go on the stage near the mic and announce, Swapnil held his hand and in turn went there with him and said,
“Hi all. Hope you had a good time out here tonight. But at the same time I would also like to say, that I am afraid and so demoralised to see that people of this kind still make their existence in this modernised world. I could believe that people’s greed for money wont go away as time passes, rather would have more and more impact, and that is why everyone is here today. But then again do I also need to believe that superstitions would also ruin in this modern world. Can a person prove to be unlucky for some other person?
A person is there by his own fate. See here is a live exclusive example. One day you people only thought that this Bhanu is unlucky for all of you guys and that too all of a sudden. You people would use to have bad times and failures if you would have seen this person’s shadow even. But now in this last 6 months, this Bhanu only became like all of your shadows. Not only he, but you people only enforced him to make active participation in all that you people got involved and engaged in. May be all because of the greed on his money. But then didnt India win any cricket match which Bhanu saw with you guys? Dint then any tree in your garden give flowers and fruits which you all with Bhanu planted and pointed at, at times in astonishment? Dint then any people crack any job when the person met Bhanu in the morning while going for the interview? Dint then anyone have a new born baby who was helped to get admitted by Bhanu with others in the hospital? Guys these all are beliefs and on top of that wrong beliefs, which if you could fight and ruin out, you would be the happiest.”
All understood that this lottery winning was Swapnil’s trick only to make them understand and get rid of a dirty superstition of giving a person like them, only pain, who is already a much more sufferer from long ago. All understood Bhanu and continued the same behaviour with him, as they used to do with him during their greed for the money.
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