The Wheel of Luck
The Wheel Of Luck
The hut was small much smaller than my troubles my father who was a daily wager and I who had come to take care of him as he was the only earning member in the family. Being the eldest of the siblings my mother thought it wise to send me back with him from the village while she took care of my other younger
brothers and sisters I was all of 12yr old a good age to be in school but school costs money and all that my father earned was spent on eating and sending back the rest to my mother so she could take care of the rest of the household.
The only worldly possessions we had was a cycle which my father bought secondhand from the security guard who took care of the premises where my father worked on the construction of a building as a daily wager.
One day my father came home pretty early as he said the heat had got to him and by the looks of it he was really unwell. The Pandemic was announced a few days earlier and I was scared that my father had come down with Covid-19.
He was actually told not to come to work from the next day. My little mind was scared for my father. The only way out was to go home….but since no transport was available and everything was shut I did not know what to do.
My eyes fell on the Cycle. It was a Hero Honda and was sturdy I made up my mind I would carry my father back to the village not knowing the distance to cover. My father fell for my plan and we set out early morning. He rode pillion and with my little legs I peddled with all my might…as the day progressed the heat was too much so we took shelter under a huge tree ate and rested. Till the sun went down and I could cycle some more till tiredness took over and we would repeat the same cycle for 9 straight days and nights.
They say I was the bravest that my village had ever known. I had travelled 600 miles on the cycle. My story was covered by the news hounds it made a good story in the lockdown.
My and my families luck changed for good. Since then our hut has been rebuilt with a toilet for our family we were given money by the government they have also opened a bank account in my father’s name and the best part is I get to go back to school.
I give full credit to the humble Cycle that carried me and my burdens back home, never faltering even once. The wheel of Luck still rolls on. By the way my name is Maya which means compassion.
Carol Mitra
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