15 years old Shanti went to see the fair with her friends. Her mother gave her 50 Rupees to eat and buy stuffs. She was quite excited.
When the girls reached the place, they got even more excited. There was a huge crowd. There were shops selling toys, little clay pots, bangles, etc. There were stalls for different snacks like Samosa, tea, chat, and different kinds of sweets. There were swings and rides for children.
The girls were exploring all the options. The place was filled with joyful sounds and laughter of people. Shanti was curious while going through different shops. While her friends were busy eating various snacks, she decided to spend her money on something unique.
As she walked away from her friends, she came across shops selling pottery, clothes, handcrafts, and many more. She noticed that there was a shop selling antiques. She entered the shop. It was a big one. There were boxes, statues, coins, and wall paintings. She looked at the beautiful boxes as the shopkeeper approached her.
“Do you want to buy one?”, he asked and smiled.
Shanti replied, “ Yes! How much for one?”
“150 Rupees”, the owner said.
Shanti’s smile turned into disappointment. “ I only have a 50 Rupees”, she said.
The shopkeeper looked at her and said, “I have one old box which I can giveaway for 50. But it’s in a bad condition. Someone threw it near my shop. I collect antiques and it looked really good so I kept it. But no one would buy it as it is broken.“
The shopkeeper went inside and brought a wooden box. It was a rectangular box. It’s handle was broken and there were scratches on upper cover. It seemed like someone tried to damage it. But from inside it looked brand new. Finely polished inner walls with a mirror on the top lid. The interior had fine engraved miniature designs. There was engraved a text saying,
Return anything you take from here
“What does it mean?”, asked Shanti.
The shopkeeper replied,”I don’t know. It’s just for decorative purposes. Don’t bother. Do you want it?”
Shanti replied at once,”Yes!”
She happily brought the box with her. She was excited about putting ornaments and jewellery in it, but her mother denied. She said that the gold jewellery were kept in safe and should not be touched.
Finally, Shanti kept her artificial bracelet in it. She had bought it from a local shop. It was made of fake pearls but looked really pretty.
That day Shanti’s friend Meenal visited her. Shanti showed her the box. Meenal was fascinated by it. She put her own earrings in the box and said, “It looks so good in it. We will keep all our jewelry in this box.” Shanti’s eyes sparkled with excitement. They both spent some time together and then Meenal took her earrings from the box and went away.
The day went by and at night Shanti closed the box and went to sleep. The next day when she opened the box, she realised her bracelet was not there. She asked her mother and father about it. No one had touched her box. She was confused. She went to Meenal’s house to ask her.
When she reached her house, she saw policemen standing at Meenal’s door. Meenal’s mother was weeping and her father was talking to the police. Apparently Meenal disappeared from the house when they were asleep. The parents searched all places in the village but were unable to locate her. The mother was screaming, “ She was sleeping with me. How can she go anywhere in the middle of the night? The doors were also locked from the inside when we woke up.”
As Shanti heard all that she ran back to her house. She went into her room and took out the box. She opened the box. As she looked carefully she noticed something. She went to her father’s room and got his magnifying glass.
With the glass when she looked at the miniature designs she realized something. Those were ornaments engraved on the walls of the box. She could see her pearl bracelet among them. Then she saw something that froze her. Some of the ornaments were engraved with the human figures wearing them.
She quickly turned her attention to the text again
Return anything you take from here
Shanti understood that her friend was never coming back. She took the box in her hand and ran quickly towards the fair. She went to the antique shop, threw the box at the door, and ran back home.
The shopkeeper came out and saw the box. He picked it up. He went inside and kept the box on the shelf. It read
For sale
By
Khushboo Singh