Small Shoulders with Big Responsibilities

It was a late afternoon and Mini was very busy. She had a very important meeting to prepare for. She rushed to get all her files sorted. But, just then, she got a phone call. This was a call to inform her that her little sister, Suzi, had got in a big fight with their neighbour’s child, Mason (aka Monti). Mini left everything, made a quick call and ran to her sister. 

As she got to her home, she was surrounded by a big crowd. In that crowd, she noticed Monti’s parents and Monti. Monti had bleeding knee and his hands were scraped as well. He must be around six-years-old, thought Mini. As soon as they saw Mini, they were demanding Suzi to come out of her house and apologize to Monti. Mini got in a small argument with them and confronted that she will not call Suzi. She will talk to her first and she left the crowd. She went to the door and unlocked it with her keys. She went inside and shut the door behind her. 

As she went in, she searched for Suzi. After scanning the room, she finally found Suzi hiding behind a couch, crying. She went to her and hugged her sister. 

“It’s okay! Suzi, I’m here. I’m back. It’s okay. Calm down.”

“I didn’t do anything, Mini.”

“Stop crying. Come let’s sit there. Come.” Mini carried Suzi to the couch and sat. Once they got there, Mini picked up a glass of water from the table and gave it to Suzi. “Here some water.”

Suzi took the glass and drank all the water. 

Mini looked at her five-years-old sister and smiled. “Feeling better?”

Suzi nodded in reply.

“I am going to open the door.”

Suzi grabbed Mini’s hand and pulled her down. Pleadingly she said, “No, Mini! They will beat me up and lock me up in jail.” 

“Did you do anything wrong that you are so scared? You didn’t right?”

Suzi shook her head.

“See! Just truthfully tell them about what happened and what you did.”

When Mini notice that Suzi was still hesitating, she continued, “Do you know who the braves ones are? The ones who face the consequences of their actions. In other words?” 

Suzi asked, “In other words?”

“In other words, whatever you do, do it right. All right? And let the results come, whatever it may be. Face it boldly. There is no need to be worried. Okay?”

Suzi nodded.

“I am opening the door.”

“But Mini, will you not ask me what happened? Don’t you want to know my side of the story?”

Mini smiled and said, “Don’t worry. I will not be unfair like others. I will listen to you and Monti. I will listen to both of your sides.”

“Than, how will you know who is right?”

“One of you will tell me.”

Suzi was still confused, but before she could ask another question, Mini had already left to open the door. As soon as she opened the door, Monti and his parents came in with other neighbours. They all glared at Suzi. Suzi was really very scared. She wanted to run upstairs to her bedroom but she was very frightened. Her knees were trembling. Monti’s parents demanded an apology for Suzi’s behaviour. Just then, the society’s secretary, Madame Louise, entered the room. She was old and very wise. She ordered everyone to be quiet and grab a seat where they can find one. Once everything was settled, madame Louise said, “I have already received a phone call from Mini just about an hour ago regarding this situation. Though this is not a society issue, Mini asked for my presence so that peace could be maintained. I have agreed to her request. Therefore, now I ask Mini to continue this so-called meeting.”

Mini stepped forward and said, “Thank you, Madame Louise, for accepting my request. I know that as a secretary you have a lot of responsibilities and yet you came here. It means a lot to me.” 

Then she turned to Monti’s parents and continued, “We know our side of the stories. I was at work, got a call from neighbours and came here. I am sure that was the same case with Monti’s parents. We both heard it from the third person and came here. But now, let us hear our children’s side of the story. I would like that Monti, in his own words, will explain what happened. Come on, Monti. Don’t hesitate to share your side. Truthfully, explain everything that happened. I assure you that nobody will interrupt you.”

Monti hesitated a little but started talking, “I only wanted to play with them. When I asked ‘Can I play?’, Suzi refused. I insisted and she pushed me.”

Monti’s mother was angrily looking at Suzi. Suzi couldn’t do anything other than lower her eyes that were full of tears. 

Mini notice this but decided to ignore it and instead asked Monti, “Then?”

Monti was surprised by the question. He looked at his mother. 

Monti’s mother angrily said, “What do you mean ‘then’? Is this not enough? Do you wish an action thriller fight and see my child have more injuries than what he already has?”

Mini ignored the question and asked very calmly, “What did you do Monti?”

Monti’s mother wanted to say something but madame Louise stopped her.

When Monti didn’t reply, Mini tried again, “Did you push her back?”

Monti shook his head.

“Why not?”

Monti’s mother stood up with rage and said, “Enough! Do you want my child to be as violent as your sister too?”

Madame Louise interrupted, “Please be quiet.”

Monti’s mother sat down, angrily.

All eyes turned to Monti. Though they were all calm and inviting, Monti still felt his heart skip. He was confused and seeing no other option, he said, “I fell down. Scraped my hands and my knees were bleeding. When people around me saw me, they came over to pick me up. They took me to a chair and after a while, I saw my parents.”

Mini smiled at Monti and said, “Thank you, Monti.”

Then she turned to Suzi and asked, “Suzi, is what Monti said is true?”

Suzi hesitated and said, “A little bit.”

“Little bit?”

Suzi nodded.

“Can you please tell us the complete truth then?”

Suzi got up from her chair and with her eyes full of tears, she said, “I did refuse that Monti cannot play. But that is because he is always mean to us. He cheats in every game and teases us all. Also, I did not start the fight. First Monti pushed me and then I pushed him. I didn't mean to push him hard. I just wanted to free myself from his grab.”

“Then?” Mini asked.

“As Monti fell, I freed my grip. When I saw blood, I got scared. So I ran to our house and closed the door behind me. Then there was this noise outside and I got even more scared.”

Mini thanked Suzi for her honesty as well and continued. 

“Thank you, Suzi. Now we know both sides of the story. It is confirmed that this was nothing but an accident. Suzi did not mean to hurt Monti.”

“But my son is hurt. And now Suzi is making up lies about my son. That he bullies everyone. I don’t believe it. Suzi must apologize for it,” demanded Monti’s mother.

Mini smiled and asked Monti, “Monti, is it true? Do you tease and hurt everyone?”

Monti shook his head.

“You know, when we try to sell a product, we ask our customers if they would like to use that product. This is called a survey. So, if we were to do a survey, will we get a good Monti or a bad Monti?”

“What kind of a question is this?” asked Moti’s father after a long silence. “In this case, we should do a survey on Suzi as well. A good Suzi or a bad Suzi?”

Mini smiled again and said, “That is a very good idea, Sir. Why don’t we do a survey around the society and ask for their opinion on Monti and Suzi. This way, we will also know what others think of them and it might also help us solve this problem.”

As soon as Mini finished her statement, Monti looked around the room and noticed that people were angry with this decision but couldn’t do anything against it since it was quite a practical idea.

What if they actually conduct a survey? Monti thought. 

When he finally saw Mini getting up and when she announced, “I will go and print out the survey forms and will explain further information later.”

Monti got really scared. He looked around. Nobody was opposing Mini. When Monti saw Mini started going to a different room, he stopped her.

“Wait Mini.”

Mini turned stopped around and saw Monti had tears in his eyes. She asked, “What happened Monti? Why are you crying?”

All eyes in the room moved to Monti. They were all full of concern for Monti. 

Suzi raised her eyes and looked at Monti. This is the first time she had seen Monti crying. Se didn’t understand why Monti was crying. Maybe because of his scraped hands and injured knees. 

“There is no need for a survey.”

“Why not?” Mini asked.

“Because I am a bad Monti.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because Suzi is saying the truth. I do tease others. Suzi did not start the fight, I did.”

Everybody in the room was shocked with Monti’s confession. Monti’s parents didn’t understand what was happening. They didn’t understand what Monti was saying, as if he was speaking a different language. 

“Why did you start the fight?”

“Because I wanted to play with them.”

“Why didn’t you try to ask for permission instead?”

“Because I didn’t want to look like a weak person. I wanted to look like the strong person. Strong people have power and power comes from fear. I wanted everyone to fear me. But now, that I am crying, I am the weakest person in this room.”

After listening to this, tears came in everyone’s eyes, especially Monti’s mother. Mini wiped her tears and went close to Monti and hugged him. She wept his tears too and said, “Do you know Monti? You are not weak. In fact you are the strongest person in this room.”

After listening to this, Monti raised his eyes and looked puzzled at Mini.

“Yes Monti. Suzi is strong because she said the truth. But you are the strongest because you accepted your mistake. If you had waited for the survey, maybe we would have disliked you a little. But now, other children in the society will look up to you. Standing in the middle of the room and being accused for something you did not do, definitely needs strength. But accepting your mistakes and weaknesses, takes a different level of courage. You are not just a strong person Monti, you are a warrior. A true warrior who fights every battle, no matter how small.”

This brought a little hope in Monti’s eyes. 

Mini smiled and took Monti to the middle of the room and said to the audience, where other children were sitting, “You don’t need fear to manipulate others. All you need is kindness and courage to stand by the truth. Be kind enough so that people will trust you, especially when they don’t see hope. Have enough strength to keep your stand that even if you will be punished, no one can move a single inch. We are proud of Monti. He has been an example for all of us. I hope we learn from him.”

Monti’s mother came close to Monti and said, “I am proud of you, Monti.” She then hugged him. 

Madame Louise took Suzi and Monti close to other children and talked to them, “Do you know, everyone says that adults have the most difficult job? They have to feed their family. Bring money to them. Do an excellent job at their work. Pay school fees for their children. Pay electricity and water bills. But in reality, this is an easy job for them. You know why?”

They all shook their head.

“Because they are all grown now. They have big and strong shoulder. They can carry that weight. I think you children have the hardest job. When you go to someone else’s house for a visit, it is expected from you to behave in a certain way. They expect you to eat a certain way. They expect you to not fight with their children. They expect you to say thank you after dinner or lunch. They expect you to respect everyone. Does that happen to you?”

They all nodded in reply.

“That is because your actions show your family's love for you. Your behavior shows your parent’s teaching. Your playfulness shows your respect for them. Everything you do, it shows something about you and your family. I think the whole world’s responsibility is kept on your small shoulders. But I am very happy that you both have shown that you might be small but not weak. Your shoulders are not weak. They can carry a mountain if you wish to. I am very happy and grateful for witnessing this.”

Madame Louise after finishing her thoughts with children, she turned to adults in the room and said, “Thank you everyone for being here. I think the meeting can end from here.”

Everyone got up and made their way to the door. Though before leaving the room, everyone either shook hands, hugged or gave a playful punch to Suzi and Monti to show them their support. When the room eventually got empty, Mini asked, “Anyone hungry?”

Suzi nodded.

“Should we go and have food then? What should we eat?”

“Let’s eat Pizza,” Suzi said than turned to Monti. “Do you want to join us, Monti? Are you hungry?”

Monti looked at his mother for approval than nodded and rubbed his hand on his belly.

“Can we have cold drinks as well, Mini?” asked Suzi.

“Sure, we can have ice cream as well.”

Suzi and Monti both looked at each other with excitement and then ran for the door.