The story so far: While trying to even the score with Annabell, Devon finds his tricks backfiring on him and doing some good instead of bad...
Devon searched for another victim. A marble-seller carrying colourful marbles in a wicker basket over his head walked down the street.
“Marbles, marbles for sale,” the marble-seller said.
Devon was thrilled. His score would be the highest with this mishap. He watched a careless passenger fling a banana peel on the road from the window of a bus. He pushed the peel in front of the marble-seller. The unsuspecting marble-seller stepped over the peel, and his foot slipped.
“Eeeeee!” screaming loudly the marble-seller fell down. The basket overturned. Colourful marbles spilled out of the basket.
Devon watched a man emerge from the corner of the street. An angry mob chased the man. The man raced down the street, unaware that an army of marbles awaited him. The man went flying the moment his feet skid over the marbles. For a few seconds he was airborne.
Devon and the crowd watched.
Thud! The man fell. The crowd following the man saw the marbles on the ground. They slowly navigated their way, avoiding the marbles. A lady in a blue dress, shouting and waving her arms wildly, finally caught up with the crowd. She came to a stop at the sight of the fallen man.
After a few minutes, the man on the ground regained consciousness. The group gathered around the fallen man. The lady in blue stepped forward. The man silently returned the lady’s wallet.
“Don’t!” the lady stopped a man from punching the thief. “He has returned my wallet.”
The lady opened her wallet and pulled out a few notes. Devon wondered what she was up to. She offered the notes to the marble-seller.
“Your marbles saved the day,” she smiled.
“Thank you, madam,” the surprised marble-seller grinned.
As everyone was distracted, the thief stole away.
Devon shook his head. Was he losing his devious touch? He pondered over his dilemma. He couldn’t afford to help people. It was not good for his reputation.
An off day
A flash of white in the distance caught his eye. It was Annabell. She too was on a rural beat. He decided to follow her as she walked into a jungle. He was certain that she was on a Rescue Mission. Annabell stood near a cluster of trees, staring at a nest built high among the thick branches of a tree. Wind rustled the leaves, the branch swayed as the tree battled a gale. A strong gust of wind overturned the nest: two baby birds dropped on the bundle of twigs collected by a woodcutter. The fluffy chicks squawked, struggling in vain to fly as their wings had not yet developed.
Annabell darted towards the bundle of twigs. Lifting the two chicks from between the dry twigs, she placed them a little distance away. From a distance, she watched the two bundles of fluff. A fox darted out from behind the tree. Before a stunned Annabell could react, the fox grabbed the two chicks and scooted into the forest. She was shocked. This was the first time her Rescue Mission had failed.
“I didn’t want to harm the baby birds,” tears rolled down her cheeks.
Illustration: Sonal Goyal
To be continued...
