Outstanding Story (Sub-junior) - Ashwin And His Role Model

“Ashwin And His Role Model” is one of the outstanding stories (sub-junior) of the first biannual International Short Story Contest 2019 written by Avinash, Rak’s Pallikkoodam, India.

Ashwin And His Role Model

Once upon a time in a distant village in Tamil Nadu there lived a boy called Ashwin. He was living with his father who was a panchayat leader and his mother a home maker. Ashwin was a naughty boy. He never does things by himself. He was lazy and lethargic and got very less marks in his exams. Since he was his parent’s only child they pampered him and never shouted at him.

One day, he came across his classmate Achu who was sitting near the village pond. Ashwin had hardly spoken to Achu because everybody in his class ignored him since he was poor and lonely. Ashwin saw Achu upset over something so he sat near him and asked, “Achu, what is wrong?” Achu was surprised at the same time he felt happy that someone was considerate about his feelings. So he said, “Thank you Ashwin for talking to me” and he began… Achu was a poor boy who had lost his parents in Kaja cyclone. They were resting in their small hut and the heavy cyclone crashed their hut killing his parents. Now that he has no house and parents, he is living on the roadside and picking up papers and selling it for his food. Achu said “Now I’m upset because our teacher asked me to pay the Third Term Fees. I’m really lost, I want to learn but what to do for my fees?” Ashwin was surprised and taken aback by Achu’s dedication. He rushed to his house and told his father about Achu. Ashwin’s father was happy about his son’s responsibility and helping tendency so he spoke to the village panchayat and arranged for scholarship for Achu. From then on Ashwin became a responsible boy keeping Achu as his role model. Let’s live and let live. Help the needy - God will bless us.