Short Story: The Magic Mirror

By Vagisha Kumar

Once there lived a 5-year-old boy, Chiku. He belonged to a very poor family.

Chiku’s parents were masons, who earned limited wages. The family could barely manage one meal throughout the day. However, his parents worked hard to send Chiku to school.

They used to give him a pack of chalks for school. It made Chiku very happy. Chiku used one chalk for about one week. He only had one pack while others in his class had more than 10. They even had 4-5 slates but Chiku never complained about these things. He was content with what he had.

One day, a gang of bullies started making fun of Chiku. They broke all his chalks. Chiku could not write anything that day. He decided to go home. He was crying!

On his way back, he saw a street vendor selling candies. The vendor enquired, “Why are you sad?” 

Chiku narrated the whole incident to him. 

The vendor felt sorry for the poor boy. So he asked, “Would you like some candy?”

Chiku replied, “I don’t have any money.” The vendor gave him a few candies for free! Chiku smiled.

The vendor then gave him a mirror. Chiku again said, “I don’t have money, uncle.” The vendor didn’t bother. He insisted that Chiku should take it.

Chiku recalled that he didn’t have a mirror at his house. So, he took it. He thought he would use it while getting dressed for school.

As Chiku started walking towards his home, he looked into the mirror. He was shocked he could see a few people in it. He ran towards that vendor and told him that he could see uncles and aunties in it. He stated that it had a pretty lady sitting on a pink flower and with an instrument, and another woman clad in a red saree.

Chiku was afraid. He began to shiver. The vendor laughed and showed him that no one was there. He told the boy that whatever he wishes for will come true in the mirror.

Later, Chiku looked at the mirror closely and tried to ask for a pack of chalks. To his surprise, he had one in his hands! He was very happy! He kept jumping for a long time in excitement.

From that day onwards, Chiku got whatever he asked for! But he never asked for anything he didn’t need. And so, the mirror became his friend and guide. In it, gods and goddesses resided who blessed him and fulfilled all his needs.  

The moral of the story is: God is always with you in every situation. They come into your life in the form of different people. All you need to do is to wait for the right time.