Kids Short Story – Don’t wanna pay bus fare for someone else
Image Credit: Prateek Karandikar (commons.wikimedia.org)
Once Swapnil has just started suffering from cough and cold. He was very weak. But still thought of going to the office. He quickly got ready and started for his office. Now he had to walk a long distance from his house to the busstop. But again he had the option to avail rickshaw for that as well. So that day since he was weak, he more surely should have availed one rickshaw. The rickshaw fare to the busstop from his house was seven rupees. But he felt that putting drops together only makes it a sea. He would not avail the rickshaw and would save that seven rupees for that day atleast. Moreover as may be some other day in this period of his cough and cold, he would be weaker and then he would have no other option than availing the rickshaw. So he walked the whole distance to the busstop.
From the busstop, the bus which he would be boarding on, would take him to some place near by, from where he would be actually getting his office bus. So the bus fare for him for that short distance was four rupees.
He was standing in the busstop, when he found one bus to be coming. As the bus stopped at the stop, he quickly boarded on it and immediately found one known person there inside the bus. Swapnil used to know that person from the time when he used to go to the college, availing this particular bus only. The man used to go to his office, a bit far away from where he would be getting down today. His college again was far away from the place where the man would be getting down. He waved at the man and got the only seat beside him to sit. Swapnil sat and the man also smiled and started chatting with him.
Now Swapnil thought of paying his own fare not delaying any further, as he would be getting down in another few minutes. So to show courtesy, casually Swapnil asked the man, being very sure that the man would either have had paid his fare or would be refusing, whether Swapnil could pay for him as well along with his. To that to Swapnil’s surprise the man said, “O you want to pay for me, fine, pay, no problem. I have also not paid.”
Swapnil a bit shocked still managed and asked him his fare. To that the person told him seven rupees, as if once more reminding Swapnil of the pain he took and did not travel by rickshaw to save that seven rupees only in this time of weakness of his.
Swapnil would have had paid if the amount would have been something less or more than this particular figure seven. This actually pin pointed his sacrifice once more. Moreover its not that Swapnil never pays for anyone any other time, but this time this seven figure actually was pinching him. He decided that he would remain sorry to this man in mind but would not pay his fare. He cant tell that to him as it looks odd. So he quickly changed his fashion of willing to pay then, and not only immediately started utilising the time of his small journey fully chatting to him but to some extent more by bringing in various topics, as much as he can. He started pretending as if they were best friends once and there was a huge communication gap in middle and they used to miss each other very much then, and in spite of trying both were out of contacts of each other for long and now suddenly getting to meet each other almost have reminded them getting the happiness of heaven.
Just when Swapnil was nearing his destination, he slowly managed and took his leave, putting his hands in his trouser pocket and just drawing out just four rupees of his fare, paid that to the conductor, took his ticket and in the process of getting down at his stop, when the bus stopped, pretended as if he suddenly remembered, told to the man, “O, see I just forgot, I was about to pay for you as well. But I paid only mine. In this good long conversation of ours, it completely got out of my mind,” and cut his tongue.
The man also to that said, “No problem. I also forgot. But surely may be some other day, when we meet once again in this same bus.”
Swapnil got off completely and knew that the man still wont be annoyed with him.
__END__
