The Lie

He was very happy about the little kitten that his father got for him. It had half a jet-black face, and the rest of it was pure white. From the moment the kitten and the boy had seen each other, they had grown fond. They played for long hours, the kitten was almost always by the boy's side, and he even let the kitten sleep in his bed. His parents were very glad about the newfound friendship, and the whole house was happy.

That night, his parents had gone out to the market, leaving him alone at home for the first time. He was a bit scared about the prospect of being left alone at home, but the thoughts of being able to do anything that he wanted to do was too overwhelming. So, he told his mother that he would be fine at home, with the kitten. Before they left, they told him not to go anywhere near the kitchen, that it was a dangerous place to be alone, and they told him that they would come back very soon.

Finally alone in the house, he had a strange feeling of freedom. He could do anything he wanted! The only living thing part of the family left in the house, was his very close friend, the kitten. He waited a few moments to let that feeling of freedom to sink in, and when he finally couldn't bear it anymore, he jumped with joy, a huge grin lighting up his face. He could run all over the house, he could flush the toilet as many times that he wanted to, he could even go into the kitchen. His parents had asked him not to go there, but they would never know. The kitten looked at him with accusatory eyes, but he knew she'd never tell anyone.

Tentatively, he opened the kitchen door and walked inside. Steel utensils shone at him, the cutlery glinted. Knives, forks, spoons, ladles… he had stumbled across a shining pile of treasure! He carefully moved towards the spoons and knives, itching to touch one of them. The cold steel felt alive at his touch, and it made him shiver, right from the finger touching the knife down to the un-slippered feet. He didn't like the knives all that much, although they were pretty to look at from a distance.

He saw a knob on the stove, and remembered how his mother could control fire with that small black knob. His mother had been cooking, and the knob was still warm at the touch. With a leaping heart, he turned the knob. Nothing happened, except a faint hiss that issued from the stove. No blue flames leapt up, no warmth was generated. Disappointed, he turned the knob a little more, but still nothing happened, except that the hiss grew a little louder. Exasperated, he left the stove alone, and turned around, and found that the kitten had managed to climb on to the shelf with a big jar of Complan resting on it. He waved at the kitten to come down, who promptly jumped from the shelf and rocked the jar of Complan. It fell to the ground, and shattered into a million pieces, spreading glass all over the kitchen floor and the hallway. Scared, he ran out of the kitchen, bolting the door, leaving behind a chocolaty mess, and a hissing stove.

About an hour later, his parents came home. His father went into the kitchen, and as he was walking barefoot he cut his foot on a small piece of broken glass. He recognized it to be of a bottle, and he asked him if he had been anywhere near the kitchen. He lied that he hadn't, that it probably was the kitten that broke the jar. The kitten stared at him, but didn't say anything. He gave a sigh of relief, as his father bought the story and went into the kitchen to see the extent of the damage. As he turned on the incandescent bulb, there was a huge blast, and a ball of fire swallowed his father. He screamed, but he couldn't hear anything. He saw a few charred remains of the kitchen, but couldn't recognize any of it. His mother came running, but it was too late. There was nothing left in the kitchen, except ash and smoke, and a lingering smell.

Two hours later, the firemen told his uncle that the fire was caused due to the LPG. His uncle asked him if he had been anywhere near the kitchen, and he lied again that he hadn't. But this time, he started sobbing, because he knew his father would not come back. His uncle picked him up in his arms, and took him to his Mother. She was sitting quietly, unmoving. The kitten was nowhere to be seen.

It was a few weeks before he went back to school after the incident. Before he left, he looked into his mother's eyes and made a promise. "Ma, I'm never going to lie again."

***

10 years later, he was coming home from a bar after having his first smoke. When he reached home, his mother smelt the cigarette smoke on him, and asked him if he'd been out smoking.

"No, Ma! I don't smoke," he said.

***

Image Courtesy danwk71