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behind a huge pile of chaff left from the winnowing of rice. Rup took a puff or two of the forbidden weed and began to cough and cough. His cigarette burned out. One of the boys relit it for him and tossed the match carelessly into the pile of chaff.
In seconds the chaff ignited. The boys fled. No time to think of what they had just done! All they could think of was to run away as fast as they could. Before they were completely out of sight, one or two townspeople spotted them. Because of his father's prominence, Rup was easily recognized.
"O Rup! Young Rup! Do you hear us? Come here, Rup!" He heard someone shouting behind him.
With his child's mind already full of fear, he magnified the deed to monstrous proportions. He was panicky and thought he had done a grievous wrong. He dared not go home that night. He felt painfully alone. All of his companions had run off. He felt abandoned.
What should I do? Quick, let me run away. I can jump aboard a train for Bangalore, and go to my cousins' house for a while.
Whenever Rup made some mischief, he always used to imagine himself fleeing to his relatives for protection. This was the first time he carried out his fantasy.
The train ride from Tumkur to Bangalore was a mere forty miles journey, but the short period of time was filled with mental anguish. The more his mind maneuvered, the more his heart sank. As he fled from one mistake, he kept on breeding more. As he avoided facing the truth, he redoubled the number of lies.
Soon he appeared on the doorsteps of his father's cousins in Bangalore. The family welcomed him with open arms, in the grand tradition of Indian hospitality. They pretended not to doubt the legitimacy of his visit, but naturally they saw right through this twelve-year old's plot.
To be sure, they contacted his father. A couple of days after, as young Rup was figuring out his next move, a messenger arrived to bring the lad back home, to his father.
Father's understanding left no room for punishment. Instead, in a calm and quiet mood, they had a conversation
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