Raghavendira M S

Abstract Drama Thriller Others Children Children Stories

4.5  

Raghavendira M S

Abstract Drama Thriller Others Children Children Stories

18+ but un-adult

18+ but un-adult

8 mins
227


"Don't open the curtains. It should always be closed," my dad warned me. This is probably the 25th time (if I'm not bad at math) he was warning me. Whenever he warns me, the curiosity inside me increases inch by inch.

 "What is there in the curtains? Why he is warning me again not to open it?" the crazy me always questions me. I gazed at the curtains. It's been a simple, 4-feet long dark-blue window curtain designed in flowers and branches. Nothing special about the curtains. I could relate the curtains with my friend's/ cousin's curtains in their respective home. Our curtains were always closed. I have never seen the curtains opened in my life. Maybe without my presence, the curtains would have opened but when I'm inside the home, the curtains would always be closed. I know there is a window behind the curtains but still, I guess there is something fishy behind the curtains.


Hi friends, this is Vishal. I'm studying 5th grade in ACH matrix Hr. Sec. School. Did I tell you, my dad is a Finance Head in a corporate company and my mom is a lecturer. I need to tell you at this point, we have shifted our home must before the Government announces the lockdown due to corona virus. We have shifted to this home a month back. In the previous house, I would go towards the curtains, I would open, close, I would hang and play with it. But once we shifted towards the new home these hiding, secrets- comes into play. I have never experienced such a situation like my parents warning me of anything. Also, I'm quite a shy type, never crossed any borders which my parents draw.


In this new home, whenever I walk towards the curtains, my dad's eyes would be on me. Mom won't warn but gently she would advise me not to open the curtains. But, mark my words, one day I will open the curtains and find the biggest secret behind the curtains, I owed to myself.

"Vishu, get ready for the online class," my mom screamed from the kitchen.

"I still have 10 mins for the class, ma," I screamed from the living room.


Mom stepped out of the kitchen. "At least wash your face. Look how dull you are..," as mom was brawling, I stormed to the washbasin and washed my face. To say about mom, she expects disciplined and punctuality in every aspect of life. "See, I need you to be disciplined. Studies next, discipline and obedience should be first" she would often quote; my unofficial offline teacher. To say about dad, he would be busy calculating the stocks of the companies, predicting which will rise and which will fall. He would be on a call with friends or with clients regarding is what I don't know, but he talks seriously, that's what I have observed. But our relationship is smooth and he cares for me, like a common dad.


I have washed my face and took out my dad's phone and got ready for online classes. Even, dad got ready for his work from home. Mom would clean the vessels and would join her teaching class. This is how our life passes in the lockdown days.

Today, as usual, my classes have started and I have started listening to the lecturers, or to be precise, acted like listening to the lecturers. I believe classroom classes are far more vibrant than online classes. The classroom class teaches life lessons which are what is missing in the online classes. Missing classroom class badly. Probably 1-hour would have gone; mom and dad got dressed in formal attire. Dad too shut down his laptop. I don't understand what's going on. Do they tell me to dress up and get ready for outside? I don't understand why people are going outside for some reason. It is online for everything.


"Vishu, please take care of yourself we are going to the bank. Will return within 1-hour. Ok?" Mom said.

I rolled my eyes big. 'Is that urgent to go outside in this pandemic,' a logical question raises in my head.

 "What Vishu? Is everything ok?" My dad inquired.

I nodded my head.

"Good. Take care of yourself. We will lock the home from outside," dad said and they stepped out of the home, locking the door from outside. This is the usual practice in our home.

So that, if someone wants to visit our home, they would think we were outside and none would disturb me sitting inside the home.


But this time it's something special for me. This was the moment I was waiting for the past 30 days. The moment has arrived. I excused myself from the online class- stating I wanted to use the washroom. On the approval from my teacher, I stepped towards the window curtains and swiped them towards the right side. I could see a small brown-colored box. I opened the window slightly, 30-degree inclined. I stretched my hand and tried to touch it. I could sense some kind of tiny object in a rectangular shape. I snatched the tiny object behind the windows. There saw a small box behind it. It looked like a mini-version of the mobile phone box. By rolling the box, I glanced into it.

It was written as "CIGARETTE"

Also, they have stated as, "SMOKING CAUSES CANCER, SMOKING KILLS.

                        SMOKING IS INJURIOUS TO HEALTH"


It seemed like a contradictory statement. In the upfront, it has mentioned as "Cigarette". In the down under, it has mentioned as "injurious". If that the case why should be sold?

I don't understand if it causes cancer and injurious to health why does it have to be sold. If I'm not wrong, it has to be banned right?

"Shall I try this? Shall I try this?" a crazy part of me was furious to try at it. "At least hold this one" that crazy part screamed.

"This is what everyone does. If all of them took the gun and assassinate themselves, should I need to do the same blunder," discipline part of me screamed.

"We aren't lighting it, right? Just hold the cigarette in your mouth. Let's see how it feels," crazy part screamed again.


"If you wanted to smoke? Then why should you blame others who are smoking? Literally, I couldn't find any difference between smoking the cigarette and thinking of smoking the cigarette."

"Leave this blabbering guy. Just hold it on. It's a life experience," the crazy me murmured.

The more surprising is people are dying to buy that to buy their death. A further surprise is the mature people tend to addict to this smoking. I have never seen a promotion stating, "Warning! This causes cancer! Injurious to health!" in any product. If a bad product gets a massive response from the public, why can't people get the same impeccable response for a good cause like donation, or offering to the needy?

If all these were known to a small shorts-wearing not much educated 5th-grade kid, why can't a blazer-wearing, well-educated people couldn't get this. They pay for their bad health. If this money is spent on good health, they could have lived longer.


All these thoughts were running in my mind.

Is this what dad was hiding behind the curtains for the past 30 days, I thought glancing at the cigarette. This is why dad told me not to touch the curtains. I have not only opened the curtains but my dad's secret. Bad secret. I wonder whether mom knows this.

"Shall I try this? Shall I try this?" a crazy part of me was furious to try at it. "At least hold this one" that crazy part screamed.

"This is what everyone does. If all of them took the gun and assassinate themselves, should I need to do the same blunder," discipline part of me screamed.

"We aren't lighting it, right? Just hold the cigarette in your mouth. Let's see how it feels," crazy part screamed again.

"If you wanted to smoke, then why should you blame others who are smoking? Literally, I couldn't find any difference between smoking the cigarette and thinking of smoking the cigarette."

"Leave this blabbering guy. Just hold it on. It's a life experience," the crazy me murmured.

I was thinking about whether to listen crazy part or the discipline part. Whether to hold the cigarette or to keep the cigarette box in the same place. There was some WWE Royal rumble boxing was that going between crazy me and discipline me.


I have finally come to an end. I have cornered the discipline me for some seconds and listened to the crazy me.

I hold the cigarette in my mouth, as showing in the movies, and tried to replicate their style of smoking. The only thing, I haven't lit that cigarette. Rest, everything I have tried. Lighting a cigarette is the worst part. Holding a cigarette is not that crime. But, the cigarette would tempt us to do the next step of lighting. The eagerness to feel the smoking would drive us the lit the cigarette.


The temptation that smoking could drive us is far more dangerous than Virat's cover drive.

"It seems, it wasn't as cruel as I initially believed," crazy me said and laughed out loud.

Discipline me has no words to say as it was cornered in my room of brain.

 Suddenly, I heard the door gets opened. Dad and mom stood beside the door! Dad was shocked to see me holding the pack of cigarette. Dad stared at me. I stared cigarette. Mom stared dad. Dad bowed down his head.

It seems from my mom's reaction, mom knew dad would smoke. But mom doesn't want me to know that dad would smoking, resulting I would smoke one day. But they both would never have imagined that I would tough the pack of cigarettes at such a ripe age. But it was all in vein.


"Never Smoke! 

 Never"                               


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