When I was Awake for an Hour Too Long

by Smruti Patil

[box]Lessons that we learn as children indeed turn out to be lessons of a lifetime. Smruti Patil shares one such event from her life that taught her a valuable truth. Read on.[/box]

I clearly remember that night, when I ran home after seeing my mother switch on the lights in the balcony. That was an indication for me to stop playing and go home to finish homework. I clutched the one rupee coin I had found in the park, and ran towards the gate. But then the coin was too tempting, so I turned back, went to the nearby shop and treated myself to a chocolate. Eating it hurriedly, I ran up the stairs. But as soon as I looked at my ma, I couldn’t stop myself from telling her about it. She did not say anything; she asked me to freshen up and then called daddy. I then thought I was surely to be reprimanded big time. I remember I was in class four and I used to sleep every night at 9, promptly. Dad said nothing, asked me about my homework and told me that after I finish dinner and studies I should go sit with him.

At around 8:45 pm, just as I was preparing to go to sleep, dad called me, and asked me to sit next to him. He was busy with his work, making some notes in his book. I sat quietly, wondering all the while as to when he would start scolding me. But he kept quiet and silently went on with his work. Every minute was getting heavier with silence. I tried a couple of times to apologise, but he just shut me up. Ma too was sitting with a magazine, but I am sure she was watching her daughter. It was 9:40, my eyes were half closed, but I had to wait patiently, though I didn’t know for what. I rubbed my eyes. Not a single sound in the room. About half an hour later, dad looked at me, mom came and sat next to me, and that was all.

I was again left to sit wondering what actually was happening around me, why the strange atmosphere. That last hour had been slow, very slow, it was so difficult to sit in front of my parents, unable to say sorry, knowing I had done something they considered wrong. It was getting difficult with every passing second. To imagine myself sitting there with a hundred wild thoughts churning within my head, makes me go uncomfortable for a second even today.

After a few more minutes of painful waiting, dad stopped writing. He looked at me with eyes, which had only love for me, and ma held my hands. I remember my dad asking why I was scared and I told him that I knew I should not have picked up that coin. He questioned me as to why I picked it up even when I knew it was wrong. I was silent. My mom told me why I was still kept awake that day –it was their way of teaching me one of life’s most important lessons. Dad told me I had only lost an hour of sleep and I was feeling this restless and asked me to imagine the state of the man who must have lost that one rupee. Money is money, be it just a rupee or a hundred thousand, he insisted. For the one who has worked hard to earn it, every single penny is valuable, he explained. And he raised the question that set me thinking: How could I take somebody else’s precious thing, that too for a mere desire?

I took time to realise it was not just money, it was that man’s efforts, his thoughts, his dreams, that we were talking about. I was ashamed of myself. I really had nothing to say that day. My parents knew I had learnt my lesson, and neither did they ask me to say sorry nor did they ask me to promise I would never repeat it. Being parents, I am sure they saw it in my eyes.

I vowed to myself that never again would I ever pick up something that does not belong to me. With the mind of a nine-year-old, I thought I would rather leave it or give it to somebody who would be in a better position to handle and judge, than taking anything that I did not deserve.

Through the years, this decision has only strengthened further.

This is a lesson that I have learnt the hard way. The small punishment from my parents helps me work hard for whatever I want to have. Desires may be many, but I strive to possess only what I deserve.

Smruti Patil works as an Integration Consultant and lives in California, U.S.

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