The Last Wish

Mohan was fascinated by the coloured chalks used by his kindergarten teacher to draw on the black board. Every afternoon he would slip 2 or 3 pieces into his pocket and take them home. One day he stole his friends new sharpener. The other day he pocketed a pencil from another’s stationary box. His mother noticed it all, but she chose to ignore it.

One day he pinched a chocolate from the confectioner. When Mohan grew bigger, he started stealing money from his friends pockets. Mother just laughed it off. When he was eighteen, she saw him wearing a gold wristwatch. She asked, “Where did you get that from, Mohan?” He grinned and said, “I know just one way to get what I want…” And they had a hearty laugh.

Call it fate or destiny, Mohan became a mastermind at burglaries. He broke into houses in the night and stole whatever he could lay his hands on. When he brought his booty home, his mother would say, “Well done, son!” At one such time, when he was clearing out the locker of a jewellery shop, the watchman confronted him. Mohan shot at him from point-blank range. The watchman died. The gun shot alerted the security guards out side. A huge commotion ensued, and ended in a bloody scene due to heavy exchange of fire from both sides.

Mohan and his aides were overpowered and arrested. At the end of the police investigation and the court proceedings, Mohan was given death sentence for murdering the watchman. Just before he was to be executed, the executioner asked Mohan, if he had any last wish. Mohan asked for permission to hug and kiss his mother. His mother came near him, tears were streaming down her cheeks. Mohan hugged her and put his lips to her cheek as if to kiss her, one last time, but instead, he bit her hard on the ear. She cried out in pain, as her ear bled. “If you had slapped me when I stole my first chalk, I would not have grown into a thief. If I had not become a thief, you and I would not have had to go through this today. But now its too late for you to start and its too late for me to stop. Good bye mother.”