The story so far: Vineet has been using the magic mantra to make his life easier.
Vineet had become extremely possessive of the piece of paper with the magic mantra. He double checked every time he changed his clothes, ensuring that it was always in his shirt or pant pocket and seldom let it far from his sight.
Once, when Vineet was washing his face, he splashed water on his shirt. “Oh no!” he said, quickly drying his hands. Slowly, he pulled the folded piece of paper out of his pocket and saw that a tiny corner had become wet. He opened it out and laid it over his study table, and weighted it down. Half an hour later, the paper had dried. But he still didn’t fold it. He let it dry some more.
The accident had made him quite upset. “I need to find a permanent solution for this. What if it gets wet or gets misplaced or what if one day I forget to remove it before throwing my clothes into the laundry basket?” Vineet muttered.
Problem solved
Finally, he had an idea. “This is the perfect solution to my problem?” he danced around his room, laughing.
After chanting the mantra a few times, he pitched the idea to his mother. “Mom, for my last birthday, you bought me a small silver locket, inside which were my nana’s and nani’s photos,” he said.
“I remember,” his mother replied. “But you said you didn’t want it.”
“I want it now,” Vineet replied.
“But how will you wear the locket? Your school does not permit jewellery or gold chains,” she frowned.
“I’ll wear it on a long black thread,” he replied. “As it is winter, we are always wearing our sweaters over our school uniforms, so no one will see it. I’ll think of something for next term.”
Later in the evening, his mother gave him the locket attached to a black thread. Once in his room, Vineet transferred the folded piece of paper into the locket.
Knotting the two ends of the thread together, he dropped it over his head. The thread settled around his neck, while the locket sat gently on his chest; a constant reminder of the power he wielded over people.
Sighing with relief, Vineet kissed the locket. Now, he had nothing to fear.
The End
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