Outstanding Story (Sub-junior) - The Magic Concoction

“The Magic Concoction” is one of the outstanding stories (sub-junior) of the first biannual International Short Story Contest 2019 written by Abeer Bhandari, SNS Faridabad, India.

The Magic Concoction

“Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown”.

It has been so true for me. I was the prefect of the class. I was fortunately and yet regrettably told the same, to maintain discipline and avoid disorder in the school premises.

Naughtiness has been disregarded as a culture in the schools. Seeing the plight of my dear teachers to deal with it on a daily basis, I pledged to erase the misbehaviour, unknown of the consequences.

I have a scientific bent of mind and I invented an Emerald green magic potion to cure hyperactive children.

I made sure every kid had a dose of my invented medicine in his milk during breakfast.

A sea of upturned faces looked at me with amaze. They could not comprehend the effect they had due to the queer medicine.

Kids filled with shenanigans, laughing like hyenas, giggling like piglets turned as quiet as a mouse.

A striking thought occurred to Sarita, “Look. Pointing at the green potion. A queer thing. Like in the movies. But it’s real.”

There was something amiss. The whole class was devoid of cheerfulness and individuality. Every kid was as shy as a rat. The class was devoid of its fun.

I thought to myself, “I lost sight of what is important in my quest to get a perfect class. I wanted to fit in a mould of perfection, and navigate through life effortlessly without misbehaviour or trouble.”

All of a sudden, a happy voice in a sea of sadness rebuked me. It was Sarita again.

The class turned unusually silent. She wanted me to think on my decision. I decided that the first attempt like today was so out of ordinary .There was no imperfection due to chaos in class but a gloomy silence prevailed .I realized neither the bountiful gifts of childhood can be eliminated, nor the imperfections be.

We all need to harvest happiness and confidence under all circumstances.

From today, I am going to respect each individual as he /she is.

“Embrace and maintain your individuality.”