The taste of righteousness

She is very happy to be assigned an important task, to buy a bottle of shampoo for her mother. She is given a crisp hundred rupee note for this with instructions about the brand of shampoo, the size, the price etc. along with the warning to be cautious with the money. She wants a chocolate she says, but her mother gently scolds her because she has been having too many chocolates lately, resulting in tooth decay.

Disappointed and angry, she starts for the shop in the neighborhood, thinking…
What difference it would’ve made if I were allowed a chocolate just this once? Ok fine, I am getting cavities and the doctor has asked me not to have chocolates, but I’ve also started brushing my teeth twice a day. None of my friends’ parents behave this way; I am not a kid after all…

She is engrossed in the chain of thoughts, when she realizes with a start that she is already at the shop. As usual, the shop is crowded; she somehow manages to slip inside and is treated to the most tempting sight ever! Rows of containers filled choc-a-bloc with confectioneries; toffees, candies, lollipops, chocolates, gems and what not?! The shop has it all. She always craved for the sweets in the shop and her parents usually succumbed to her wishes. But not today, the same very sweets being out of her reach today, seem yummier.

Cursing her fate, she tries to grab the attention of the shopkeeper but her voice is lost in the hustle-bustle of the shop. But then something else catches her eye, lying astray is a chocolate that obviously must’ve left the busy hands of the shopkeeper as he tended to so many customers. She almost instantly reaches for the chocolate, but stops short to check if the shopkeeper or the customers are looking at her. She is relieved to see that no one is paying attention to her. But still she is scared; she feels someone’s eyes on her back and looks back again, only to find no one.

Now is the time, she thinks, and hurriedly chalks out her plan of action.
I will take the chocolate when no one is looking, put it in my pockets and then ask for the shampoo. After taking the shampoo, on the way back I’ll finish the chocolate before reaching home.

How clever, she thinks. She is ready grab the chocolate but is gripped by the thought of shame if she is caught. What will everyone think of her? And even if she escapes everyone else’s eyes what if her mother comes to know? She always felt that her mother has a knack to detect anything fishy. She almost panics as she imagines the dejected look on her mother’s face. She loves her mother dearly; even though she is angry with her today she cannot bear to disgrace her in such a manner. But one look at the chocolate makes her go weak again.

She thinks about it again and decides that it’s not worth the trouble after all. She can always ask her mother for a chocolate after some days and till then she’ll wait. Yes she loves chocolates but she loves her mother even more. Having resolved this issue, all the scary thoughts disappear; she suddenly has this very good feeling, which in her later years comes to be associated with every right decision she takes.

She stands there smiling, till the shopkeeper enquires her about the goods she wants. She buys the shampoo and as she walks back home the images of her eating the chocolate flood her mind. But this time she chucks the images with ease, because sometime back she has had her first taste of something even better, righteousness.