Earning by the sweat of the brow

 

-Subhakar

Jayalakshmi came out of the railway station and walked towards the bus stand.

A man from behind the compound wall came out, snatched her gold chain, and ran away.

She cried, ‘Thief.....thief.....!’

Young men standing at some distance ran after the galloping thief. Some people gathered around Jayalakshmi.

It was a chain of sixty-four grams! Jayalakshmi was crying and the people were consoling her.

‘Don’t cry! You’ll get back the jewel!’

The young men who went pursing the thief returned.

‘For fear of being caught, he threw away the chain and ran away. Take this chain.’

She took her chain and thanked them.

‘I told you what we earn by the sweat of our brow never goes waste!’

It was true! Sitting by the rich lady in the train she had to talk to her for hours to befriend her! She had to put her to sleep by giving her the drugged biscuit!

Thinking of that hard work she went away from there!