The Selfish Scrawny Garden Owner

This one is from the historical era, from the early days of “The Child who was the King”. He had this huge garden besides the very playground that used to be the abode of him and his mates. The garden had all the ingredients of desire, mangoes, guavas, jackfruit, blueberries, Banana, Dates and Coconuts, and protected by an 8 ft high wall. Their ball used to go into the garden every now and then, so they had carved foot holds on the wall to scale it, go in and fetch the ball back. Obviously when you go in, you cannot just come out with the ball; so a few of the fruits always used to come out along with the ball to celebrate the breaks. Most often than not, the breaks were required to be held elsewhere; as the loud screams, followed by a scrawny figure running after with a thick long stick was not a very healthy sign.

Up to this, it was OK. We also never bothered. But it used to be a bit too much, when the scrawny garden owner used to reach our house. And obviously it has to be my house to start with. Ammi, usually taking a breather just after coming back from school, and get poured with all the complaint. That’s one thing she never liked; her instruction, do whatever you wanna do, just make sure it doesn’t reach back home. So those out pours usually used to get transferred back to me. So the scrawny fella has to be taught a lesson. The idea came after I visited one of my uncle’s places. So the plot thickened.

The next afternoon, two stood guard in the garden while the chief entered the “lone loo in the garden”. Its one of those stand alone toilets, you find in the villages or very old houses. After a few minutes the action was over. The reaction started. The entire house of the fella went power-less. The single main fuse of the house kept on blowing. There is somewhere a short circuit. The electrician was called; all the rooms were thoroughly checked, without any success. The night descended and the entire house went into darkness. To rub salt to the injury, the entire neighborhood was gleaming with power.

The ordeal continued till late next afternoon, and after much sweltering, someone decided to use the “lone loo in the garden”. The switch was on. Suspicious member calls the electrician; the bulb inside was removed, revealing an old ten paise lodged between the bulb and the holder connectors – the reason behind the all those burnt fuses since the day before! Everyone knew who was behind this carnage, but no proof. We only had to be cautious till the next time.