Short Story 25 : Under The Cupboard

Under The Cupboard

                                - T ABRAHAM

    Days were passing by and only five teddy bears including Liddy were still remaining in the shop. All five of them were eagerly waiting to be purchased by someone who would take good care of them.

(SOURCE: AI GENERATED IMAGE)

    One of the employee who cleans all the five teddy bears have gone on a vacation for a week. The teddy bears were being kept away from the window to avoid them from becoming dusty. All the five of them were kept on the counter table. While they were being dusted one among the five teddy bears fell down near a cupboard. Then Liddy also fell nearby and she was able to see shreds of papers under the cupboard. These were nothing but the bills of the shop, which were no longer needed.
    Liddy started to weave her tale, ‘Long time back many things were written down in papers using pen. But nowadays everything is being stored in computers and mobile phones for easy retrieval of information. There lived a boy with his grandparents and he is known to write everyday. But his grandparents did not want him to write anything out of his academics and will never allow him to waste the papers available in their house. The boy wanted to have a diary but they did not give him one. So, one fine day he started to practice his mathematics using pencil and erased it during the night time and penned down everything which happened everyday. This was a process continuing until his grandfather died, when he had joined the college.
    One day his grandmother noticed a few papers kept hidden under the cupboard. The place was dusty and it was the responsibility of the boy to clean his room. She took those papers and started to read them. Then suddenly the boy came home a little earlier than usual. Grandmother had taken the papers with her as she felt eager to read about the past which was recorded by the boy.
    The boy left the day’s report under the cupboard, and the next day once he had left for the college she took those papers and started to read them. It had both the good and the worst times of his life. The boy had described his urge to buy a diary, once when he starts to earn his living.
    One thing which had shocked the grandmother was some of the worst things that has happened to him recently. Even though she was feeling joyous after reading that their grandson was living happily with them. The bullying and abuse he has to endure in certain places was bringing out tears from her eyes.
    The very next day grandmother had asked the boy to discontinue from the course he was currently pursuing and made him take a break from his academics for the next two months. Afterwards she was searching for a good place to send her grandson for studying and also bought him a diary during this time.
    Grandmother realised that how important it was for him to note down all the intricacies of his life. The boy had also realised that, grandmother had read his diary entries left under the cupboard. He found this out when she had asked him to discontinue and gifted him a beautiful diary’.
    Liddy was about to fall asleep when she has completed with her tale. But suddenly one customer came into the shop and bought two teddy bears for his daughters. Now only three teddy bears were left in the shop with Liddy being one among them.