“…. No matter how much greed inside your mind tries…..
You must never lie….”
“Especially in presence of a Jofra”… Grandma finally concluded her story …
Aditya who generally always listens to her stories about Jofra with great interest was getting very impatient today…
“Ok, dadi… very good one, now you can sleep” he instructed…
“So early??!! Today you don’t seem interested to know more about a Jofra like ‘What are they??’ ‘How they look like?? etc. She inquired…
“Well, you have told me much about them already…
‘Jofra’ lives somewhere in the darkness, always wears a black cloak and hates children who lie, give harsh punishment to such children” Aditya replied hastily …
After ensuring that dadi is finally asleep, he headed towards the basement where earlier that day he has discovered a ‘secret door’, and now he was curious to know where does it lead to…
The door has some ancient markings on it… Aditya couldn’t understand what is written on it, he slightly pushed the door…
The door opened with a loud thud and Aditya felt like he was sucked inside it…
The world on this side of the door was completely different…
There was a chocolate fountain in front of him… A bouncy road in place of a concrete one, toys lying here and there…
A magical game of cricket was going on between an invisible bowler and batsman…
There was a magical cafeteria that can serve anything you wish for…..
Aditya was so mesmerized by this place, he forgot about everything and went ahead to enjoy all the delicacies of the magical cafe…
His next step was to collect as many toys as he can, he roamed around this magical place, played every game, savoured every delicacy… He was on cloud nine.
Everything he ever wanted was present here… his heart filled with immense joy…
“Hello I am the gatekeeper of this town, I need to ask some questions from you” suddenly a soft voice interrupted him.
Aditya saw a weird looking snowman looking at him as if waiting to hear his reply…
“I need to ask you some questions” the weird snowman repeated …. Aditya couldn’t gather any strength to speak so he just nodded …
“Do your parents know you are here?? If yes, then you can stay here. If not, you have to leave…
Aditya didn’t want to leave this magical place so he just lied and nodded in a yes…
“These toys are they your’s ?? If yes, you can keep them forever if no, you have to return them…
Again Aditya was not ready to let go of his dear possessions. He lied again stating that these are his toys…
“Final question did you ever lie to someone ???” If yes, you can leave, if no you can stay”…
“No” Aditya lied again….. The greed has taken over his mind completely…..
“L.I.A.R” screamed the snowman…… A sudden flash of light appeared out of nowhere and Aditya felt like he is being dragged inside a castle.
“Master Jofra, this greedy boy is lying continuously, he didn’t speak the truth for once..” The weird-looking snowman complained to his master…
“Jofffffrraaaa, Aditya started to feel very uneasy, his heart started pounding fast, the same jofra about which her grandma used to tell stories about…who give very harsh punishments to children who lie…
He saw someone standing with his back turned towards him, the jofra has attained a black cloak just like his Grandma used to tell… He was now missing his grandmother so much and was trembling with fear…
“…. No matter how much greed inside your mind tries…..
You must never lie….”
“Especially in presence of a Jofra”… Echoed a voice…The Jofra started chanting this phrase again and again.
But Aditya found its voice very familiar as if he knows the person behind this cloak…
The Jofra started to move towards him….. and when Aditya saw its face he almost screamed…
” Her grandmother was wearing a long black cloak and all other snowmen were bowing at their master……”