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Think on the bright side ⛅

February 8, 2024

Aran Ketharasarma (10 years old)

There was a boy called Mithulan who lived in a family of four with a younger brother called Rajesh. He and his brother never got along. He was 11 years old while his brother was 9. Mithulan was an average student. While getting pushed around to learn from his அம்மா, he played cricket and soccer at school and played cricket for a club. Though he had an enjoyable life with sports and studies, he lived a very unlucky and uneventful life.

One day, Mithulan was walking home from school with his brother and unsurprisingly, he missed the bus and had to walk 3 miles. And of course, with his unlucky life, he stepped in dog poop. His brother then exclaimed, “Ha ha, loser.” So on the way home, he walked with one shoe on while carrying the other. When he got home, he showed his mother his shoes.

One day, Mithulan was walking home from school with his brother and unsurprisingly, he missed the bus and had to walk 3 miles. And of course, with his unlucky life, he stepped in dog poop. His brother then exclaimed, “Ha ha, loser.” So on the way home, he walked with one shoe on while carrying the other. When he got home, he showed his mother his shoes.

His mother then shouted, “இந்தப் பொடியன்!”

Mithulan and Rajesh were playing a video game and Rajesh asked his mother what was for dinner.

His mum replied, “ஊத்தப்பம்” “Ew!” Rajesh replied, “Isn’t that like dirty அப்பம் or something?”

“No, it’s like தோசை but more delicious”

The next day, in history Mithulan finished his exam and fell asleep, accidentally. The teacher woke him up and said that he would get an automatic zero. Mithulan, shocked by this information, started stressfully thinking, “அம்மா என்ன சொல்ல போறா? அப்பா என்ன சொல்ல போறார்?”

When he got home from school, he had to tell his mum what he got in his history test. When his mother heard this information, she said that Mithulan would have no video games for a month. Then Mithulan explained how he got a zero. “I finished my exam early and I thought I did really well. But because you kept me up till 1 am to make me finish my science fair diorama, I fell asleep during class. That’s how I got an automatic zero”.

Then, Mithulan’s mother apologised and said that he could have screen time and next time she wouldn’t keep him up so late, and then she went to sleep.

That night, Mithulan was showering and was almost about to cry because pretty much everything in his life was unlucky. But then somehow, he thought to himself, “From now on, I’m going to think about everything in a positive manner. Next time, I’m going to watch ahead for dog poop, and study for my exams.”

The next day, in the early morning at five o’clock Mithulan heard Rajesh crying. He went to his brother’s bedroom and asked what was wrong. He said his throat was sore and he would be delighted if his brother could get him some hot milk. Mithulan did as told and gave Rajesh some hot milk. Rajesh was extremely happy and the two became friends.

On their way to school, Mithulan did not step in dog poop but Rajesh did, and Rajesh was finally experiencing what Mithulan had been through a lot of times.