SHORT STORY

Anjali used to be very happy and scored good marks in every exam until class VIII. She had only one friend, Neha. The two girls had been friends since their childhood. But Neha’s father, a policeman, got transferred to another state. And the whole of Neha’s family moved to a new city, and Neha joined a new school.

From that day on, Anjali started to feel alone at school. And her grades plummeted. Her parents were so angry with her, and started yelling at her every day. This made her depressed.

Anjali also has a sister named Maha, who is 11 years old. Maha is the only one who took Anjali’s side all the time. Anjali used to share everything with her. But now, Anjali was so depressed that she didn’t like talking even to her sister. Maha was very concerned seeing Anjali like that. So, she started inquiring about Anjali at school; talking to her classmates. There’s a girl named Poojita. She used to sit behind Anjali and Neha’s bench. She explained what had happened to Anjali.

Maha now understood that only bringing back Anjali’s best friend could solve the problem. After a lot of investigation Maha acquired Neha’s phone number through one of Maha’s relatives. When she gave the phone number to Anjali, her sister thanked her a lot. Anjali felt so happy to find her friend’s voice again. Anjali started talking to her friend every day, over the phone. Gradually, Anjali came out of depression. Her grades gradually improved. On her Neha’s prodding, she also started making new friends at school.

Anjali’s parents were now proud of Anjali and also appreciated Maha for bringing her sister out of the doldrums.

by

Kaveri Hanumanthu

Class IX

Written in February 2024