Who doesn’t love chocolates? As a kid, I was so fond of
chocolates that I would go to any extend to get a bite. I probably was 6 years old, when I stole my cousin’s
pocket money, ventured out of my house to a shop a mile away - in the dark, to buy
my favorite chocolate bar.
Growing in a joint family has its own merits. I was lucky to
have more than a dozen cousins of all ages around me; who would pamper me and play
with me. We had a huge ground in front of our house, where all of us would play
in the evenings. One day, while playing, I noticed something shiny on the
ground. I picked it up - it was a wallet. I checked inside and found some money
in it. I thought of going to ‘Noora’s’ grocery store, which was a mile away, to
buy my favorite chocolate bar. I knew the way to his store, as my mom used to
buy groceries from his shop. I started walking towards his store, while it was
starting to get dark.
When I reached his shop, I handed over the money to him and asked
for my favorite chocolate bar. He was shocked to see me alone, and asked if I was
accompanied by anyone. I said, no. He was horrified that a 6 year old boy had just
walked down a mile, alone to his store, to buy chocolates. He took the money
and handed over the chocolates. Then he asked his wife to look after the shop, while
he drops me to my place. It was completely dark now.
We had walked half a mile when I saw my aunty and my cousin ‘Neelu’,
whose money I had stolen. My aunty was relieved to find me. But, my cousin was mad
at me, as I had stolen her money. My
aunty told me that the whole house had been looking around for me. When I reached
home, my grandfather ‘Bobji’ was waiting for me in his room, looking furious.
He scolded me, but I couldn’t understand much of what he spoke. Though I don’t remember my father scolding me,
but I guess he wouldn’t have spared me either.
As kids, we do many such crazy and stupid things, and this was
just one of the crazy things I did. If you have a crazy incident from your childhood,
to share, do post it in the comments below.
