Micro Fiction: The Package

Posted by Soumya Mukherjee at 6:59 PM On to the Previous Post

[This was originally submitted as an entry for @islejazz's micro-fiction collection for the theme- Instincts. Check out all the entries of the collection here]

The commotion of the crowd portrayed the onset of a busy day.Asif carried his box of shoe-polish with a strap, hanging on his left shoulder. He rattled it with a metal spool, alerting the people.Some would ask him to  get their shoes polished. Asif loved the business.

He had a job to do today. He was instructed by some people to run an errand. They had promised him five hundred rupees. Greed and need got the better of our 11-year old Asif and he agreed.They handed him a small package, to carry it to the farther side of the station( the busiest platform, that is) . He had to keep the package under the water cooler there and return. Thus he set out.

He reached platform-6, placed the package and waited for a few minutes. People looked at him,yet no one was bothered to ask. Being sure that he did that right, he returned from the platform. 

He waited for some time. The handlers came soon, gave him the 500-rupee note, and bid him goodbye.

"Now we wait." One of them said to the other. 

The day transformed to noon and proceeded to the darkness of night. Asif's handlers went to platform 6, retrieved the package, and three people followed them back. 

" We got the full recording of the day." one of the three responded.

"And?"

"and..many people saw him place the package. Even the guards did. But no one came to inquire about it. You can see the reaction of the people there. Here, take a look." 

He passed on the handycam. The first guy saw the recording, and sighed. His instincts were right. Nobody really cared.

He was now assured that his plan would work.