November 22, 1986 Rajesh Kumar , 13, Dubai Published August 22, 2000 Kumar, the auto driver, was sitting on the damp grass of the municipal park with his friend, Venkat. "So, that's how I returned the money to the family," said Venkat. "I returned the Rs. 20,000 they left behind in my auto, honestly, but all I got was Rs. 500. What is 500 compared to 20,000? Just peanuts. Venkat looked really disappointed and depressed. All this while, Kumar had been listening silently, feeling the touch of the cool grass. "Well, such things are common in the life of an auto driver." he said after a long pause. "We have got to do the right thing, and be honest. It is foolish to return things found in the auto, expecting a reward." He fell silent again. Venkat still looked gloomy. "I have had such an experience, too," said Kumar at length. "Really?" asked Venkat. Seeing Kumar hesitate, he said coaxingly, "Come on, tell me about it." "How can I forget that day?" began Kumar. His eyes had a far off look. "It was November 22, 1986. It was about 10 o' clock in the morning. I had parked my auto under a tree near the market road. I had been waiting for a customer for over an hour. Thinking it was not my day, I decided to move away. "I had barely driven a few yards, when a man stopped my auto-rickshaw and asked me to take him to Mylem. He was an elderly gentleman with a white beard. He did not seem very rich, middle class you could say. He had large shopping bags full of things. I though he had returned from shopping for silk sarees. He was sweating profusely. "As usual, I silently drove the customer to Mylem and dropped him off in front of an apartment building on the Third Cross. "After that, I drove to the main road and stopped by to have a cup of tea in a small shop nearby. After drinking my tea, I came back to my auto. I drove toward the city in search of another savari (customer). As I was driving, something lying on the passenger seat caught my eye in the rear-view mirror. I stopped the auto and got down to check what it was. It was a pouch. "I opened it to see what was inside. To my surprise, I found five bundles of Rs. 100 notes! Each bundle had Rs 10,000 -- Rs. 50,000 in all! I was sure it belonged to the elderly gentleman, because he was my first customer that day, and I had cleaned my auto before setting out in the morning. "I was a little confused. On the one hand, I was tempted to keep the money. It was like a windfall. It would solve all my growing financial problems. But on the other hand, it was not a small amount that I could just pocket. "After a long, grueling day, driving customers from one end of the town to another, I returned home, not knowing what to do. Seeing my worried face, my mother asked me what the matter was. "'Did you hit someone on the way?' she asked. "'No,' I replied. "'Then what happened?' my mother asked again. "I reported the entire incident to her. After hearing everything, my mother said: 'I am proud of you my son. I am glad you have been honest enough to tell me about the money.' "I asked my mother what I should do. 'You can't do anything now. It's already 10 o'clock.' my mother said. 'But tomorrow, early in the morning, drive back to the elderly gentleman's house and return the money.' I agreed to do so. I felt a great weight lifted off my back. I soon fell asleep. "The next day, I woke up early in the morning and drove off to Mylem. I turned into the third lane and located the building where I had dropped off the man. "When I entered the building, I was astonished to see a big crowd at the entrance. Some of the people were crying. A few others were standing in groups talking in whispers. "Confused, I peeped into an open door of a flat. To my great shock, the elderly gentleman with the white beard -- the man who had traveled by my auto the day before -- was lying on the floor -- dead. His entire body, except the face, had been covered with a white cloth. A lamp had been lit near his head. The air was tense. Beside him was another dead body, that of an elderly lady. It was also covered with a white cloth. Garlands had been draped around the two bodies. "I was too taken aback to react. When I regained my composure, I noticed a girl sitting on the floor beside the two bodies weeping softly. "I walked up to an elderly man standing nearby and asked him what had happened. What he told me after that shocked me beyond words. He said: 'He is my friend who came from a town nearby to shop for his daughter's wedding, which was to take place in a week's time. Yesterday, he returned from the market after buying jewelery and silk sarees for the marriage. He suddenly realized that the pouch in which he had kept his money was missing. When he checked the bag where he had kept the pouch, he found that it had a hole in it. The pouch must have fallen off in the auto, because he said he checked if the pouch was there before getting into it. The pouch had Rs. 50,000 in it. It was the only money he had -- the money which was to be spent for the daughter's wedding. He tried to locate the auto driver, but couldn't. If the driver had been honest, he would have returned the money. The poor fellow was so upset he couldn't sleep at night. He silently passed away at about 2 o' clock this morning. The doctor said it was a massive heart attack. And his wife, who had a heart condition, died of shock today at six.' "I was stunned. I couldn't utter a word. I glanced questioningly at the weeping figure, sitting next to the elderly man's body. The man who had narrated the whole incident said, 'This is the daughter who had to get married. The marriage has stopped because her parents have died and she has no money. Now who will marry her?' As he said this, the man, too, began to cry. "I thought to myself. If only I had come back yesterday to return the money, I could have saved two lives. I couldn't tell anyone I had the money with me right here. I did not have the courage to admit it." Kumar sighed deeply, and fell silent. Venkat, too, was speechless. The sun had set and there were dark shadows. A young lady was walking towards them. She had a pleasant smile on her face. Kumar asked Venkat, "Do you know who this woman is?" "No, who?" asked Venkat. "She is the old man's daughter," said Kumar. "And do you know one more thing? She is my wife. I married the girl." "Your wife?" asked a surprised Venkat. "Does she know you were the auto driver who had found the money?" "No," replied Kumar. "I have never found the courage to tell her." 1245 words.