Freedom

It was a sunny day. He was still working hard. I let out a sigh thinking of what I can do for him. His chocolate eyes were seeking help and rest. His hair was messed up. His clothes were saggy and looked old stained with mud. His lips were of strawberry colour but were dried off the sun’s heat. He was sweating and making some sort of noise as if he was tired and in pain. He looked almost 6 years old. Oh! Such a tender age. He was actually labour. I have talked to him many times. I wanted to do something for him but couldn’t think of anything right then. I walked slowly passing him.  

“Bhaiya! Won’t you wish me today?” - a voice came from my back. It was him. I turned back and asked surprisingly -  

“Why? Anything special today?”  

I had taught him to use basic English. He had learnt and grasped the words too quickly. It was the best thing and the only thing I could do for him.  

“Today is my birthday!”  

“Oh! Great, you never told me. A very Happy Birthday to you. Are you doing something special today?”  

“No, Bhaiya! I have a lot of work to do. Also, we don’t have that much money for this USELESS day.”  

“Oh! Sad. But don’t worry. I am organizing a birthday party for you. You and your whole family are invited.”  

“I would be glad to join you. But you know, I have a lot of work to do.”  

“So, Sorry for you.”  

“No, Bhaiya! Don’t say sorry. Thank you for doing this much. Ok, Bye! I need to go.”  

“Bye.” - I said as I let a sigh.  

I walked my way to my school. It was a normal day. Those English classes and Science classes. My full attention was on that boy for the whole day. Soon, the bell rang. I came back home and threw my school bag on the sofa. Quickly, changed my clothes and went on to wear a sweat-pant and a t-shirt. It was the most comfortable dress I had ever worn. I lied on the bed, just thinking nothing. Maybe just getting relax. After about a couple of minutes, my phone beeped indicating a notification. I grabbed it and saw an e-mail. It was from “CRY, Child Rights and You.” I opened it and it read -  

“Greetings Mayank                                                                                                                                              We are from CRY, Child Rights and You, the most trusted NGO. Would you like to help us? Donate now for the welfare of all children. Regards.”  

I was curious to know more about it. I opened the web browser and searched for “CRY NGO”. I clicked on its official site and read each and everything. I was very delighted to know all about it. I saw the contact number there and just dialled and called. My eyes were full of hope.  

“Hello! How can I help you? - a voice came from the phone.  

“Hello! I just wanted help from you.”  

“Sure!”  

I introduced myself and then explained the whole situation. After a long discussion, I hanged up. They told me not to worry and their volunteers will reach after about an hour. It somewhere satisfied me. I just waited and waited. The silence in the room was always broken in every second, the clock ‘ticked’. ‘Tick, Tick, Tick’ and it continued until I heard the doorbell ring. I excitedly left my bed and went on to open the door, and to my astonishment, there stood four people wearing a yellow t-shirt and black jeans. There was a CRY logo on the t-shirt. I welcomed them in and asked for coffee. But they refused and ordered me to go to the child. I locked up the door and walked. All of the four were following me. After about five minutes, we reached the destination. He was still working there and it was 6 PM. I pointed out him and all the volunteers asked him to come near us. He came fully confidently. He blushed as he saw me, an expression of shock was also on his face.  

“Hello, Bhaiya!”  

“Hello!” - I replied.  

The volunteers moved towards the master and asked a lot of questions about him. He was totally shocked and being aggressive, he shouted -  

“Who the hell are you all?”  

“We are the volunteers of CRY, i.e., Child Rights and You. We have got a complaint regarding child labour. Have you ever thought about what would have gone with that poor child? How bad his health report would be? How sick is he? - one of the volunteers replied.  

“I don’t care- “  

“If you don’t care, let us inform you that Child Labour in India is illegal and criminal. We have reported the FIR against you. They might be reaching soon.”  

“Are you kiddi-”  

Suddenly the siren of a police jeep came it increased as the jeep came nearer and nearer. They were really informed. The master deserved so. The police arrested the rude, master and fined him a sum of 3 million rupees and handed it to the child.  

All of us were very happy and the expression on the child’s face was unexplainable. He let out a tear of happiness and we thanked the team that helped us a lot. I donated to CRY and was way more than happy to give such a wonderful gift of “FREEDOM” to the child.