The boys are on a trip. A trip into the woods. Accompanied by their family they trudge along a narrow path, a route that had obviously been traced by human footsteps, a trail that had been trodden many a time.
They walk cautiously, startled by the snap of a twig or crunch of dry leaves under their feet, the irritating buzz of insects and the far away roar of the waterfalls.
Mesmerized by the quiet of the jungle, they look around and smile at each other. Their mother warns them of any pranks. The local guide smiles and assures the mother that these woods do not tolerate any pranks for the prank would be on the prankster eventually. The boys laugh hysterically hearing the local guide. Such naive locals! They wink at each other, mission accomplished the wink says.
Reaching the waterfalls, soaking the dust off, the family heads back home. A wonderful weekend, a memory to cherish and for the boys a memoir to hold onto.
The next week at school, the geography teacher summons the boys, a paper in his hand and a cringe on his face. The boys know the paper is their essay ‘ A trip into the enchanted woods’. The teacher doesn't utter a word, nor is there any admonition. The paper has a note written on it. “return what is not yours, u have sinned. Nature always has the prankster pinned”. The boys recoil from the laughter of the teacher, an unmistakable relieved laughter, for all these years, he's never for once smiled.
They race back home, take out the beautiful transparent pebble they found at the woods. The horror on their face when they see the reflection on the smooth face of the pebble replace the face of the teacher with the twins’ faces.
End
Rekha Viswanathan