Vintage Trunk
The giant sky was lit by a full moon, and the blanket of stars stretched to infinity. After winding up the household chores, Mala came to her room to retire for the day. She checked for Mihir and found him sitting in the rocking chair on their balcony, gazing at the skies.
“Why are you still awake? Is everything okay?” questioned Mala.
“Nothing serious Mala. I was thinking about grandpa and the house that we often visited. The last time we went was four years ago when grandpa passed away”, he said as his lips quivered.
“So what’s the big deal Mihir? Let’s take a break and go there for a while.” expressed Mala.
A week later, they decided to visit Gondiya which was some 1100km away from Pune, where they resided. On reaching, they took the help of a villager to clear the cobwebs and thick layers of dust that had settled on everything. The ancestral home was spacious, unlike homes in cities. The courtyard was surrounded by coconut trees. By evening, the house was immaculate.
Suddenly, Mihir’s daughter Bela’s eye fell on an attractive brown colour, rectangular shape, vintage trunk having an arc design on all sides. She tried opening it, but it was locked.
“Dad, come upstairs,” screamed Bela.
“Yes, darling, what happened?” inquired Mihir.
“What is there inside this trunk?” Bela asked excitedly.
Mihir knew about this trunk. However, he never had the curiosity to learn what was inside. On Bela’s insistence, he decided to open the trunk. There were some brass utensils, story books, albums, and idols of gods. But what caught Mihir’s eye was a diary, covered with a red coloured velvet fabric. He pulled out the diary and came downstairs. He asked Mala to place two chairs in the garden.
“Is this a spiritual book?” inquired Mala.
“Doesn’t look like.” Replied Mihir.
He flipped the page. His grandfather’s name appeared in bold letters, which meant the diary was maintained by him. On subsequent pages, names of people who had mortgaged their land, the number of acres, date etc. were mentioned. Some returned the money and took back their land, while others couldn’t.
Mihir stood awestruck when he read that all the property would go to him after his grandfather’s death.
“Oh, wow, a treasure from the trunk.” Mala expressed her happiness.
“Yes absolutely,” said Mihir. But soon his smile disappeared.
Mala looked puzzled and asked, “Are you not happy?”
“Mala, by God’s grace, we have everything. These lands belong to the villagers and I think we should return it to them, and those who are no more; we can use their land to build a school for children who go walking miles.” Mihir replied.
“This is so thoughtful.” Said Mala.
The next day, Mihir called the villagers to hand over the land papers and shared the idea of constructing a school. Waves of happiness spread among the villagers. In return, the villagers blessed Mihir and his family and their trip turned fruitful.
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