Hari was trapped in a dungeon-like chamber beneath the main building; there seemed to be no escape, he had been here for a day or two. Thank heavens for his mom who forcefully gave him his favourite food, fruits and a bottle of water, he literally survived on them. A thin shaft of sunlight did peep in but otherwise there was no apparent exit. As night dawned, the meagre light also vanished, leaving him in complete darkness.

He was an engineering student on his way to tuition, a black cloth was shoved over his face, then he was suddenly kidnapped and brought here; he was an extremely hard-working brilliant boy loved in his college.

He could not think of an evident reason for which he could have been abducted, well he was not the son of a millionaire. As he had nothing to do, he started introspecting about the best way of escape from here, sleep was miles away from him as he had too much on his mind. He wondered who could be responsible for this act; a jealous student perhaps, he remembered his classmate Ravi who was not good in studies.

But first things first, the escape route was the foremost urgency, it was pitch dark, his mind refused to work and sleep eluded him and with these thoughts he dozed off. He dreamt of his small yet useful pocket knife; when he awoke in the morning he fumbled in his pocket and lo and behold, his knife was there which he carried for any emergency. Now it seemed God was helping him escape, he was excited. With the wee bit of sunlight, he scanned the floor for a hole or weak spot. He tapped with the blunt end of the knife; one particular patch was sandy and soft, it gave away leaving a gaping hole.

Now Hari’s mood was elevated, he looked carefully at the wall because it would prove to be an easier exit. He tapped on the wall and was able to make another hole, more sunlight peeped in; a little more effort and he should be out. He wondered where the kidnapper was! He could peer from the hole; no one seemed outside, he should hurry now, some more taps and he easily escaped. After a while he knew the road and was easily on his way home.

He realized that this act was committed by an amateur; a thought crossed his mind, maybe Ravi had got him kidnapped as exams were two days hence and probably he didn’t want Hari to appear for his exams. As he reached home to his overjoyed parents, he told them about his doubts. So they decided to pay an impromptu unplanned visit to Ravi’s house, seeing them he was completely taken aback and speechless. The ugly truth was revealed in the presence of everyone. Ravi started crying uncontrollably and was very apologetic so Hari’s family decided to forgive him!
___


___