Today I had a crazy day.
I went to D-Mart to get 1 kg of peanuts and sabudana since Ganesh Chaturthi is coming and my mom will be fasting. On my way back home, I noticed two kids who looked like they were in 5th standard. At first, I ignored them, but then something about them standing alone under the roof of a closed shop caught my attention. They were wet from the rain and had no one around.
I walked back and asked them, "Why are you standing here? It's dangerous. Anyone can kidnap you. Go stand near Mukesh Mart where there are people." The younger one spoke to me while his elder brother quickly ran off to another shop.
The small boy told me their mother had sent them to feed pigeons wheat grains, but they had nothing in their hands. That spot was famous for pigeons, so it didn't seem too strange at first. When I asked where they lived, he said Manpada.
They reminded me of myself and my younger brother. So I decided to help. I thought, instead of wasting my ₹20 on vada pav, I'd drop them closer to their home. I bargained with an auto driver, and while we rode I casually said, "These are my aunt's sons. They forgot their umbrella," just so the auto driver wouldn't suspect they were alone.
When we reached Manpada, the little boy thanked me and ran off. But I still felt uneasy. I saw them again near Napro, a place where garbage is thrown and cars are parked. I asked why they were there, and they replied, "Because of the heavy rain." I warned them not to stand there—it was an area where drunk men often wandered. I told them to take the safer route under the shop shades.
Before leaving, I reminded them loudly, "Don't run away leaving your little brother alone when someone talks to you! And always take an umbrella!"
But I was still worried. So I followed them from a distance, just to make sure they reached home safely. As they walked through the chawl lanes, they seemed confused. That's when I suspected—maybe they weren't from around here at all.
Finally, they even came near my own area. I approached again. The elder brother quickly whispered something to the younger one and ran. I caught the little boy and asked, "Are you lost? Can I drop you? Do you know your address?" The boy just said, "My big brother knows."
Then, suddenly, he sprinted away like lightning. I couldn't chase him because of my expensive raincoat. That's when it hit me—these kids weren't ordinary. Maybe they had run away from home.
I prayed for them in my heart: Even if you ran away, stay safe. Don't get too wet, or you might fall sick. But they were gone.
Part of me felt I should've taken a photo and shown it to the police so they could return home. But at 19, with my career just starting, I didn't want to get tangled in legal trouble. So I let it go.
In the end, I thought—maybe they'll starve, maybe they'll join a beggars' clan and somehow survive. Who knows? But at least for that day, I tried to help.
Disclaimer:
This story is based on a real-life incident experienced by the author. Names of places and events are true to life, but this is written in a narrative style for storytelling purposes.