Iflitted down the alley, panting. It had all happened so suddenly. I had just stepped out of my house with sister. My mother had forbidden me to walk side by side with my elder sister as I walked to school. She often tried to frighten me with those horrible kidnapping tales to assure my safety.

But I was fed up of it. I felt as if she thought I was still a baby. So as soon as Aapa and I turned into the next lane, I fled faraway, towards the main road. Just a bit of fun, that was exactly what I wanted.

I stopped at a jalebi stall and bought a piece with my canteen money. So hot, so sweet! I noticed two men sitting in front of me at the dhaba, drinking tea and eyeing me suspiciously. Yet, I didn’t sense it.

I lazed around and checked my watch, it was still 7:15 am. So I would be left with a total of ten minutes if I took five minutes to reach the school. So I lingered around, enjoying my snack. When it was almost time, I grabbed my satchel and walked away. That was when real trouble started.

I couldn’t recognise the roads. It seemed sort of a maze. I wandered about unsure of what to do. But more was to come.

Then suddenly, the two men I saw at the dhaba came around from nowhere in a van. They asked me if I had lost my way and I answered in the positive. They gave me a candy which I accepted. After much friendly talk, in which they acquired my parent’s names, they admitted being close friends of my father. They offered to give me a lift home.

I, panic stricken and troubled, was delighted that at least I would find my way back home from where I could straight away go to school. I ignored the fact that these men were strangers to me and jumped into the van.

Soon the taller man noticed the watch on my wrist. He praised it and requested to see it. I was surprised by their kindness and proudly handed it over. He studied it carefully and seemed to be fixing the time. Yet, I was far from suspecting anything wrong as I was overcome with their generosity.

A lot of time passed. I often asked them how long it would be before we reached home, but they always answered that we were nearly there. They were having a slight discussion which I barely understood, except a few words like ‘sell’. Soon the man driving nodded to the taller one. The van stopped and the man stepped out. I was so happy.

The door opened. A hand grasped my mouth. I tried to bite it, but in vain. The man who had been driving came over and tied my hands with some thick, itchy string, tightly. My mouth was covered with tape. They pushed me in, sealed the doors with a child lock and left. I could hear them talk as they went away.

“Oh Fazal! What luck! I am telling you, we will not sell the child for less than a lakh.’’

“First, we need to move out of here. As soon as we are finished with supper, we will leave the city, now hurry…” the coarser voice said.

I concluded what was going on. Having no time to loose, I frantically pulled the tape off my mouth and climbed in the driver’s seat. I was in luck as the door opened quickly and I ran as I had never run before. About half an hour later, with my energy and spirits low, I decided to stop.

But somebody was running behind me! I turned around and got a surprise! The men who had kidnapped me were running behind me. They must have come back and after not finding me, would have come in pursuit of me. Instead of halting, I gathered speed. I could almost see the dust rise and fall as I ran — trust me when I say this, I am not bragging and boasting.

I saved myself from running into a vendor’s stall, skidding all the way around the park. My legs ached as if I had carried the sky up for a year (ignore my addiction to Greek mythology, but yes, I really mean holding up the sky).

And at last, when I could run no more, I collapsed into an alley. It was like a junk heap area, and a cat snarled at me for disturbing its nap. All the same, in my situation, this junkyard was like heaven. The men passed the main path but they ignored the alleyway as it was dark and dirty, and I was camouflaged by the heaps of garbage.

Fatigued as I was, I stayed there for an hour to restore my energy. Then I ran all the way to the nearby police station after inquiring its location from a shopkeeper. Once, I noticed a man wearing the clothes of the same colour as one of the kidnappers. I was so startled that I almost tripped. After assuring myself that it was not him, I resumed my long-run.

At reaching my desired destination, I told the policemen my story and they asked my parents’ phone number, whom they called. Soon my parents arrived and how I enjoyed the warmth of my mother’s arms. I was tired to like I had never been and when I arrived home, I was tucked into bed and was soon sound asleep.

As for my mother, she forgave me for disobeying her orders and was proud of my bravery. I apologised to her and vouched to always pay heed to her orders and to never ever talk to strangers.

Published in Dawn, Young World, June 12th, 2021