After offering his prayers at a nearby mosque Rehan followed his father silently, his head bent down in shame. He could easily predict what was going to happen next and no measure of regret could reverse what had happened.

Three weeks ago, on his birthday, Rehan had got a gear cycle. All the neighbourhood children started treating him as their hero because no other child had such a gorgeous cycle. It was a green and elegantly built so that it attracted everyone’s attention. In the afternoons, when everyone would be taking a nap, Rehan would wander about in the streets riding his new cycle.

On Wednesday afternoon, when his father was away on a week-long business trip, he decided to take his cycle on the service road. He thought it must be quite an adventure to be able to zigzag through heavy traffic.

And it really was! Even though many times he escaped collisions by a hair’s breadth or so, every passing moment added to his excitement. He increased the speed to maximum level when suddenly something hit him from the front. He lost control over his cycle and after a somersault landed on his back.

It took some minutes for him to come out of the shock. The car that hit him belonged to Raja Sahib, who was one of Rehan’s father’s acquaintances. Raja Sahib and his driver helped Rehan stand on his feet. Luckily, Rehan didn’t receive any serious wounds or fractures. They took him to the nearby clinic for first aid. Before leaving, Raja Sahib advised his driver to take Rehan’s cycle to the nearby workshop.

To his shock, Rehan’s class fellow Soban was in the workshop getting his bike repaired. Rehan didn’t want anyone to know about this mishap but didn’t know how to keep Soban silent about it. Then a clever idea came to him and he said to Soban, “Hello dude, what are you doing here?”

“I’m having my bike repaired. What happened to your legs and arms? You’ve got so many bruises. Your cycle is also in very bad condition, have you had an accident?” he asked worriedly.

“Yes, unfortunately. But please don’t tell anybody about it,” Rehan requested.

“You know, Rehan, keeping mum is difficult. I can’t promise about not telling anyone,” Soban said in a straightforward manner.

Rehan reached his pocket to take out the money he had with him. It was about 70 rupees. “Let’s make a deal then. I’ll give you 70 rupees to keep mum. Agreed?” said Rehan.

Soban thought for a while and agreed to take the money from Rehan.

The workshop owner told Rehan that the cycle would be ready the next day and the cost of the repair would be Rs900.

Rehan waited for Soban to have his bike fixed, then requested him for a lift. He sneaked into the house, changed his clothes and went to bed. His body was aching badly so he had to take painkiller pills so that he could sleep.

No one noticed anything about him that day. The next day, he told his mother that he wouldn’t go to school for the next two days because he and his friends had planned to stay home to study for an exam on Monday.

All day long, he remained engrossed in his books. In the evening, a neighbourhood boy came to call him to play cricket, but he declined the invitation telling them that he had an exam coming up on Monday.

In the evening, Rehan went to the workshop and got his cycle back. Thank God, his mother hadn’t noticed that the cycle was missing, he thought.

When he reached home, his sister Sara was angry as well as sad, because someone had broken her moneybox and stolen all the money. Mamma asked Rehan about the money, but he said he knew nothing about it. He blamed their housemaid for stealing the money.

It was Saturday. Rehan’s mother was surprised to see the state of the children’s wardrobe. Summer and winter clothes were mixed up. She had also spotted an empty pack of the painkillers in the bin a day earlier. On asking, Rehan told her that he had been suffering from fever and body ache for two days, that’s why he took some painkillers and wore full-sleeved shirts and jeans instead of short-sleeved tees.

On Sunday morning his playmates were again at the door to invite him to play with them. He spoke with them rudely and asked to leave at once.

“Don’t you see I’m studying for exams?” he pointed out to the notebook in his hand.

It was Monday now. Rehan was all set to step out of the home with his cycle repaired and the bruises healed. He confidently sat on his cycle seat acting like a hero and started off for school. He reached late and there were just a few minutes to the assembly time.

The classroom door was closed. He opened it and stepped inside to hear all the boys hooting and chanting slogans.

“Hero becomes zero!”

He felt ashamed, worried and confused all at the same time. After a moment Soban came forward with a grin on his face, and extended his hand towards him. There were Rs70 on his palm.

“Sorry I couldn’t keep my mouth shut. That’s why I’m not eligible for this bribe,” he said with a repressed smile and naughty eyes.

The day proved to be a bad one because his classmates kept teasing him with their taunting remarks. His exam also didn’t go well.

When he got home, to his surprise his father who had returned home opened the gate for him. He hugged him warmly and asked about his well-being and the exam. Rehan said all was okay. At least, he had been successful in hiding his secret from the family and neighbours.

His father was telling him about his trip when they heard the call for prayer and they left for the mosque. When they were coming out of the mosque, Raja Sahib showed up unexpectedly.

On seeing Rehan, he said right away, “How are you, young man? Hope your wounds are healed now. I hope you have thanked God, after all it was a terrible crash.”

Rehan’s father had no idea what Raja Sahib was talking about. So Raja Sahib started giving details of the incident to Rehan’s father. Rehan stood beside them, with his eyes lowered and he hung his head in shame.

As they returned home, he didn’t wait for his father to begin scolding him. Instead, he himself took the initiative. He apologised and expressed his willingness to narrate the entire episode. In a soft voice, he told his father everything honestly. His mother was also there, her eyes were wide opened at how unaware she had been about everything.

Rehan’s father listened with patience because he had already noticed that Rehan was ashamed of his wrongdoings. When he spoke, his tone was gentle, “Rehan, have you realised how many sins you have committed in this episode?”

“Yes, Papa. I’ve been thinking about it. I disobeyed you and took my cycle to the service road. I offered a bribe to Soban to keep mum. I told lies to Mamma as well as the other children. I stole Sara’s money. I put the blame on our housemaid. For hiding one lie, I had to do many other wrong things. I couldn’t focus on my studies and performed poorly in the exam.”

“You are right, Rehan. One wrong act led to a series of wrongdoings. Anyway, I’m happy that you have realised your mistakes,” his father said.

“So, may I expect you are not going to punish me?” Rehan asked in a relaxed tone because a huge burden was lifted from his shoulders.

“Punishment is unavoidable,” Papa smiled. “You will be deprived of your pocket money for the next two weeks. This money will be given to Sara as compensation for her loss.”

“Okay, no problem. Sara has the right to get her money back. Although it will be difficult to spend two weeks without snacks, but I’ll manage somehow,” he said in a light mood and everyone smiled. They say all is well that ends well.

Published in Dawn, Young World, March 21st, 2020