Gyanchand looked at the great
grandfather clock on the wall. It struck nine. Damn! He was going to be
late again to reach his shop. He still had to travel at least 20 minutes
by bus to reach his workplace; that is, if luckily he got an early bus
and there was no traffic jam. His wife always called him a fool for
keeping a shop so far away from home. He knew she was right, but he
wouldn’t admit that over his dead body.
Hurriedly he put on his chappals and was about to leave when his wife’s
sharp voice stopped him in his tracks.
“There! You have
forgotten the shop keys and the wallet again. How many times do I have
to remind you? Keep the wallet in the front pocket, not in the back pocket and BEWARE OF PICKPOCKETS!” Gyanchand muttered something
about ‘nagging wives’, picked up the keys and kept the wallet in the
back pocket!
Panting he reached the bus stop. There he
realized that he had forgotten his watch at home. Oh Hell! He knew he
was in for a big lecture from his wife when he reached home but he would
worry about that later. He looked at the man standing before him. He
was well dressed and seemed to be decent &dignified. Gyanchand
smiled and asked him:
Excuse me, could you please
tell me what the time is?
The man started and looked suspiciously at him.
“9.30”, he said gruffly and turned away. Puzzled ,Gyanchand tried to
talk to him but the man wouldn’t budge. “I hope the bus comes early.I
have to reach my shop : GYANCHAND ELECTRICAL GOODS & APPLIANCES
.”
Hearing this, the man seemed to relax a bit. “So”, he said ,”You are
the owner of a shop. Then you, like me, are from the educated and
hard-working lot. Sorry for being rude. But there are so many pickpockets masquerading as decent men that you really don’t know whom
to trust!”.”Yes”, agreed Gyanchand readily. “This business has become
rampant but no one has ever managed to loot me. My wallet is always safe
in my back pocket .”
They talked for
some time, then an empty bus came. People rushed to enter the bus.
Somehow, in the hustle-bustle, Gyanchand managed to enter the bus. All
the seats were taken but he got to stand comfortably. The bus started
and he turned around to see if the man had also boarded the same bus.
However he was nowhere to be seen. Gyanchand shrugged off his shoulders
and turned towards the conductor who was asking him for the ticket.”One
Dadar T.T. please ”,Gyanchand said and reached for his wallet . But
when he put his hand inside his back pocket, the color drained from his
face.
The wallet was gone.
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