Ramu was a simple village boy. He studied at his village school till Std V. After that, he moved to Hyderabad for further studies. Hyderabad was new to him and he stayed with his uncle, who had lived in the city for a long time. Every day, his uncle would drop him off at school on the way to his office.
One day, his uncle had to go to office earlier than usual and Ramu had to go to school by himself. He knew the way and managed to reach school on time without any problem. In the evening, when school was out, two strangers at the school gate greeted Ramu. They saw Ramu and rushed to him. “We are from your village,” said one man. “Your mother and father sent us to bring you from Hyderabad.” Ramu believed them and got into their van to go to his hometown. Ramu didn’t realise that they were actually kidnappers.
Later, Ramu told them that the road they were on was not the route to his village. “This is another route to your village,” they said. But Ramu had his suspicions and understood that he was being kidnapped. He sat and observed the road, and when they stopped the van for a break, Ramu got down and ran to the main road. He flagged down a passing vehicle and got a ride back to the city. His uncle was waiting worriedly.
Since then, Ramu became bolder and went to school on his own.
A.N.S.V.S.R. Akhilendra, VIII, Tejaswi High School, Hanamkonda, Warangal
