The Boy Who Knew No FearThere was once a boy called Abhay. He didnât know the meaning of fear. He wasnât afraid of anything that little kids are scared ofâfalling and scraping their knees, ghosts, dark places, the meanest teachers at school or being lonely.But because he wasnât scared of anything, he was very mischievous and daring. He would jump down from his first-floor balcony. He refused to hold his mumâs hand when crossing the street. He never did his homework because he wasnât afraid of what his teacher would say. He would play with scissors and knives and often hurt himself accidentally. But he wouldnât stop because he wasnât scared of the pain. He wasnât even afraid of injections!His mum couldnât take it anymore. She tried to reason with Abhay about playing safely. Abhay didnât listen. In fact, he had started bullying and ridiculing his friends when they didnât join him in his dangerous activities. His friends began playing without him. But Abhay didnât careâhe was unafraid of having no friends.âEnough is enoughâ Abhayâs mum thought. While she understood that Abhay felt no fear, it was wrong of him to make fun of his friends for not being like him. She decided to broach the subject while putting Abhay to bed one night.âAbhay, I am very disappointed that youâre bullying your friends. How can you tease them for playing safely or not taking foolish risks like you do?ââOh, theyâre such silly boys and girls. Theyâre scared of everything. Why canât they be fearless like me? Look at meâIâm so cool,â retorted Abhay.His mum sighed. âIf you are insensitive to others, you will be left with no friends. You will have no one to play with. No one will like you.ââI donât care if no one is friends with me. Iâm not scared of anything!ââIâm very disappointed with this behaviour, Abhay,â his mum said sadly. âWill you not care if I also leave you to be on your own?ââSure! Go ahead. I can stay by myself. I told youâIâm not scared of anything.â Abhay rolled over to face the other way and soon fell asleep.Neither his mum nor his dad came to wake him up the next morning. When he finally got out of bed and left his room, he realised that his parents werenât home. He shrugged; what did he care? Itâs not like he was scared of being in the house alone.There was some food on the table, so he quickly ate breakfast. He then lined up all the scary things in the house that his mum never let him play with: scissors, knives and screwdrivers. When he grew bored of that, he decided to go outside and walk down the busy street by himself. Finally, his mum wasnât around to scold him! But this, too, became boring after a while, so Abhay went back home.It was only lunchtime. âI wonder where Mum is,â Abhay thought. He played with his toys, but it didnât give him much joy. He tried phoning his mum, but she didnât pick up. There was no denying it nowâhe had started missing her. He stepped out again to ask his neighbours if they had seen her or knew where she was. But no one seemed to know.By now, it was evening. Abhay had looked everywhere for her. He had started feeling very uncomfortableâhis chest felt tight, and his thoughts were racing. What if his mum never came back? What if she was so angry with him that she had gone away forever? What if he never got to meet his mum again and tell her he loved her, even if he didnât listen to her? What if he had to live in this house alone forever?Abhay finally understood what he was feeling. It was fear! He started sobbing. They were sobs of anxiety and regret. Just then he heard the front door open. He looked up to see his mum limping in, supported by their neighbours.Abhay rushed up to his mum. âWhere have you been all day? What happened? I was so worried about you.ââWell, I left home to run some errands in the morning. In my hurry to get back, I crossed the road carelessly and collided with a bike. I was at the doctorâs clinic, getting my wounds dressed. But hang onâI thought you didnât care if the world left you. I thought you were totally fearless,â his mum said gently.Abhay hugged his mum tightly. âI was scared. I was frightened that you had left me and gone away. I was afraid I would be all alone. Couldnât you have been more careful while crossing the street?â he cried.Abhayâs mum realised he had learnt his lesson. âI promise to be careful in the future if you promise me that you will too. And now that you know you are scared of a few things, no more boasting about being fearless. Promise?ââYes!â Abhay exclaimed happily. âNo more crossing the street without help. No more playing with dangerous things. No more making fun of my friends for being careful. Promise!â
Chapter 5: chapter 5
When Elephants Had Wings & Other Funny Stories•Words: 4798