sweets

YeahWrite #329 Weekly Writing Challenge : Personal Essays & Mostly True Stories

On my way to school, I watched with great fascination and envied the contents of the 

transparent round glass jars displayed on the counters of the general store. The oblong 

orange candies sitting snugly as if hugging each other salivated my mouth. The rose 

flavoured peppermints with a hole in the middle invaded my olfactory senses. The multi-

coloured square jelly beans made my innards dance. The scene slowed down my pace at 

the sight of the tiny general store.

             

(Google pics)

Household items, multicolour balls, ribbons etc never 

grabbed my eyeballs. I had a vague feeling that Prasad Uncle, the proprietor deliberately 

displayed them in extra transparent jars to tease and mock me. Though Prasad Uncle was 

an affable person with a wide smile on his face, I did not much warm up to him. The fault 

did not lie with him or his sweets in the jars but the sweets ranked low on quality in my 

parent’s opinion.

It was not that I was not pampered as a child. They brought chocolates and ice-creams 

which I didn’t fancy much. Maybe I had got them on a platter and forbidden sweets taste 

the sweetest. Going to school and back home was an ordeal for me. When I saw some of 

my friends exiting the store with candies in their palms or in their mouth, I would feel a 

pang of jealousy. I ardently wished my parents would yield to my simple demand.

I tried to plead my mom to buy those colourful sweets but in vain. I then decided that 

when I grow up I will never deny any sweet pleasures to my off-spring.

A 25 paise coin lying on the table attracted my attention. Mom must have 

forgotten to safe-keep it into the steel box in which money for miscellaneous expenses 

was kept. The sight of the gleaming coin dilated my pupils and I saw jars of candies. I 

surreptitiously hid the coin in my palm and looked for the presence of my elders. The 

metal coin lay hidden in my pencil box.

I whispered my plan to my younger sibling who was appalled at my boldness. I assured 

that we would never be caught provided he kept it a secret.

The next day we both held hands and walked together to Prasad Uncle’s General store. 

My heart was going a jig while my sibling begged me to abandon my plan and return 

home. I being the elder sister sternly told him that we would be accomplishing our 

mission. It is your mission he reminded me.

We entered the store and Prasad Uncle was a bit surprised to see us in. We had never 

made any purchases and what worried him further was that we were unchaperoned. I put 

the coin on his counter with a sonorous bang.

Coming out of the store with ours mouths full of candies was a joyous moment for me. 

Our tiny palms held many more candies and we held our fist tightly to prevent them from 

falling to the ground. I held a treasure in my palm. We ate many candies on the way 

back. The cheap candies singed my tongue due to overeating but that didn’t stop me 

from sucking. After having indulged and satiated, the remaining candies were thrown in a 

ditch. We made our way to home with not so happy faces. After eating the forbidden 

sweets the germ of guilt started to gnaw my conscience. I had acted rashly and realized 

the reason behind my parents forbidding us to eat the cheap candies. I promised to 

myself that I would never do anything on the sly.

But we both did not have the gumption to own up the mistake to my mom.

In the 9^th grade we had an English lesson, ‘Sweets’ by Robert Lynd’s  and the whole 

childhood episode replayed in front on my eyes much to my amusement.

Years later, when I was in my teens I narrated the incident to my mom. The relationship 

by now was ruled less with an iron hand and we were more closer as friends. She laughed 

and boxed my ears. I too laughed with her. 

I have learnt a very valuable lesson in life and I echo it to my teen: The forbidden fruits 

which may include sweets do not taste sweet when indulged on the sly. It leaves a bitter 

aftertaste in the mouth. Happiness shared is happiness doubled.

                                      Readers, do you love sweets?

                                                     

The Indian currency is called Rupee.

100 paise = 1 Rupee