Lesson learned by Charlotte

Someone great has said and it is true " Remember that life's greatest lessons are learned at the worst times and from the worst mistakes" 

Charlotte was the golden child to a set of loving mother and father who believed her to be the most auspicious thing that ever happened to them. They never lectured her for her childish pursuits let alone denied her anything she ever wanted. She was an rich spoiled brat. An army of helpers was always at her beck and call. She pulled immature pranks and toyed with them to her heart’s content. Her mischievousness was further encouraged by her parents who laughed it off her as a sign of childishness and immaturity.

Aaget, Emma and Alice were all Charlotte’s best friends. They belonged to well off families and were as chaotic as Charlotte. They were all indifferent to the pain their actions might cause to the person at the receiving end. A boy named Andrew was the current target of Charlotte and her gang. Andrew lived in the servant quarters along with his father who was a driver at Charlotte’s house. He was a nerdy and ambitious kid who wanted to support his father when he grew up.

Charlotte often urged him to join her gang but he politely refused because he was aware of the activities, they indulged in. This made Charlotte dislike him and she decided to hit him where it hurts. She stole the extra key of the servant quarters from her mother’s bedside drawer and located the books she often saw Andrew reading passionately. She set all of the books on fire which left poor Austin crying bitterly.

This was just one incident of the many that followed once Charlotte’s parents shrugged it off as a mistake. With time, Charlotte became more unruly and even started talking back to her teachers when they scolded her for her rebelliousness. Her partners in crime always did as she said and supported her in her petty pursuits.

One day, Charlotte was playing catch with her friends. One of her friends dared her to throw the ball as high up in the sky as the overhead rooftop of the adjoining house. Charlotte being the competitive girl she was, immediately accepted the challenged and tossed the ball with all her might but the wall hit the glass casement of the house resulting in it crashing into pieces. Charlotte had failed to complete the dare. She headed towards the house to collect the ball fuming with anger.

She rang the doorbell. It was answered by an elderly woman whose grey hair was neatly tied in a bun. She was wearing a thick black frame containing a lens. She gave Charlotte a slight look and studied angrily “You broke my window, you insolent little girl. You will never get that ball. Get out of here! Shoo!” She shut the door with a loud thud that made Charlotte hesitate.

Charlotte returned to her house with her cheeks turned crimson red with anger and embarrassment. Her friends who bore witness to the whole scene were snickering at her adding insult to the injury. “I’ll make the old woman eat her own words and beg for forgiveness.” She vowed to exact revenge on the poor old woman who was her next target.

The next morning, Charlotte and her gang hatched a smart plan that would extinguish the fire of revenge ignited inside Charlotte’s heart. They dug up some information on the old woman and found out that she lived alone in that big house. They had decided to make a fool out of the poor old woman by making her realize that her house is haunted.

They made their way towards the old woman’s house to execute their seemingly perfect plan. Everyone hid behind the car parked right outside the house. According to the plan, Emma ran towards the house and rang the doorbell as many times as she possibly could and quickly joined his friends who were hiding behind the car.

A few minutes later, the old woman poked her head out of the gate and muttered something under her breath when she didn’t find anyone standing on the other side of the door. She shut the door with all her might which made a loud banging sound. Charlotte felt amused at her frustration. This process was repeated thrice till the old woman was heaving tiresome breaths and sat on the pavement outside the house with beads of sweat forming on her forehead. She bent down and struggled to pick up her staff which showed clear signs of exhaustion.

A few moments after she went back into the house, Charlotte acknowledged that she would bang on the door this time instead of ringing the doorbell. She headed towards the gate and started banging on the door with all her might. A few moments later, she heard a loud thud and the sound of a piece of wood falling on the ground. Curious to find out what had happened, she looked through the peephole of the gate and gasped as soon as she saw the old woman lying flat on the ground along with her staff that had a significant tear in it as a result of impact with the ground.

Charlotte immediately rushed towards her house and narrated the whole incident to her mother in one breath. Her mother was shocked. “I am very disappointed in you Charlotte. I have always ignored your childish pranks because I thought you will eventually learn on your own that it is not okay to hurt people just for a few laughs.” Her mother reprimanded her while calling the nearest hospital for an ambulance. The old woman was rushed to the emergency room. The doctors revealed that she had had a minor heart attack as a result of energetic activity. Charlotte came to the hospital every single day to see the old woman, but she didn’t have the guts to meet her.

After a week, she finally found the courage to accept her mistake. 

She bought a colourful bouquet a brand-new staff for the old woman. When she arrived at the hospital, she came to know that the woman had left the country with her son who had recently come from Belgium. Charlotte fell on her knees and started sobbing. At that moment, she vowed to never pull pranks on anyone. She returned home and apologized to Andrew and all of the other people she had wronged throughout her life.

Moral: In an attempt to satisfy our ego, we often end up hurting people beyond repair.