My story"Missing Slippers" in Readers' Club Bulletin magazine ...

His loving Dadaji was the first to notice his bare feet. “Lost your slippers again?” Bholu’s grandfather enquired in a hushed tone. Bholu smiled gently. “I hope you understand” Bholu pleaded. “Of course my dear but these blue ones were your favourite. Weren’t they?” Dadaji enquired further. “Yeah……..but I don’t know where did I keep them last” Bholu thought heard. “How can you be so careless? And I am surprised how could you travel with your slippers” Now Bholu could feel some sting in his left foot but why? Oh yes, a sharp pebble had pierced his exposed foot while he was walking back home.
“This was your third slipper in this month. You better recover this one or your daily visits to your friends are thing of past”. Now Bholu could sense the obvious threat in his mom’s tone. Though Dadaji was looking at him sympathetically but he decided to avoid the interference. Bholu thought it wise to flee the hostile environment and sooner the better. He pulled out his sneakers from the rack in a jiffy and pushed his feet inside the sneakers. He moved out of door and could not notice that Dadaji was wishing him good luck. He strained his grey cells as hard as he could to figure out where possibly he could have left his slippers. After rigorous brain wrestling, Bholu could re-create the sequence of events and could reach the entrance of his close friend Manish. He ran as fast as he could.
When he reached Manish’s house, he noticed him watering his plants near the entrance gate. “Why are you so off colour? You seem to be lost.” Manish asked. “Yes. I have lost my slippers again. Do you remember that I had removed my blue slippers near the gate when we had gone to play in the park” Bholu emptied his mind without a pause. “Yes. I do” Manish acknowledged. “But I forgot them here only when I returned home” Bholu shared his concern. “Oh……………..! But…………………I can’t see them here anymore” Manish was puzzled. “We should search around the gate. I am sure we will find them around the park” “I hope we can” Bholu was doubtful.
And then two friends started searching around the park for the slippers. “Bholu……………..Bholu” Manish was calling out to Bholu in a muted tone. “What happened?” Bholu came running. “Look” and Manish pointed his finger towards a poor young boy who was gladly admiring the blue slippers in his feet. Huge smile and unpretentious glee was obvious indication that he was feeling elated about his new found possessions. “Glad we could find your slippers……………” Manish felt relieved. Bholu scanned the overall appearance of the boy sitting under the tree. Tattered clothes, shabby unkempt hair, dark tanned skin and feet……………..battered and bruised…………obviously slippers were a luxury for these feet.
“No……these are not mine. Now I can recollect clearly” Bholu patted Manish’s shoulder. “Of course, I had left them in the bathroom. I am so careless and see how much trouble I have caused” “I am sorry” Bholu sounded apologetic. Manish looked at him and smiled, “Oh…………you don’t need to be” And Bholu turned back towards his home holding Manish’s hand. He was very happy now.