Everything has a price

The carnival was jostling with a crowd of gaily clad people, beaming with joy. It was the second day of the spring festival and, everyone was in high spirits. People of all ages were coming in. Some with their families while others with their friends. Some even came alone because what could be a better company than hundreds of stalls and swings?

A young boy is running between his father's legs, marvelling at everything around him. 

"Don't go too far, child! Come back here." called his mother as he lingered, fascinated by the sunflower fields they were walking past to reach the carnival.

As his parents sat down under the banyan tree to rest from the fiery sun, he ran towards the sparrows who were looking for something to eat amid the fallen leaves. Brimming over with laughter, he tried catching one of them as a leaf flitted through the air and landed on his palm. He looked at the leaves that were scattered around him and started jumping and giggling.

"Come, child, You will end up getting lost!" 

He skipped to his parents, the leaves and birds, long forgotten. 

_________

Enticed by the colourful lights, they entered the carnival that was in full swing.

He stopped to admire the Ferris wheel. Half the people, smiling as they neared the top, while the other half was squealing as the adrenaline rushed in their blood as they came down. 

"Dad! Dad! Can we ride in that?" He pleaded.

__________

After an hour, he had ridden about half the swings, had two balloons in one hand and candy in the other.

As they neared the roller coaster, the child turned to look at his father as his mother clutched his hands, silently telling him to stay quiet since he had already asked for much more than his father could afford. Disheartened, he stared wistfully at the now disappearing roller coaster as he was dragged by his mother.

After some time, he came across a room full of mirrors. Different versions of him stared back at him. He blinked, his reflection blinked. He jumped, his reflection jumped.

He belonged to a disadvantaged family and had only one mirror in his whole house, which was in his bathroom that was way too up for his little self because of which something as simple as this fascinated him.

He started walking alongside the mirrors, watching as he went from a gigantic boy to a stick-like figure.

Soon he realized that this was a maze, a maze full of mirrors!

Giggling, he turned to look at his parents, only to find that they were no longer there! Aghast, he started running here and there, calling them as loudly as he could.

He tried getting out of the mirror-maze. The maze losing all its attraction as the once happy child was surrounded by hundreds of teary and horror-stricken faces. 

"Mom! Dad!" he wailed.

Even after waiting for some time, he couldn't hear any sounds and started looking for a way out. Surrounded by so many reflections, he couldn't find where he came from. Trailing his hand on the mirrors, he tried to feel the exit while he sobbed continuously.

____________

After half an hour, he finally came out, exhausted from crying his eyes out and his voice, hoarse from shouting for so long. Many people inside gave him weird looks. One man tried to help him, but he started kicking everywhere and screaming so, he left him to fend for himself. 

His eyes scanned the colourfully clothed group of people looking for a pale yellow shirt accompanied by a white dress but to no avail. 

He started backtracking, hoping that his parents will have gone the same way, looking for him. He went to all the swings and gets annoyed by the happy looking families thinking about how it was him and his family not long ago. He came across the balloon seller that he got his balloons from and immediately looked the other way, the colourful balloons not looking appealing anymore. Everything that attracted him earlier seemed worthless now. All the worldly goods lose their significance once he gets separated from his parents and realizes that they are greater than any other thing in the world. 

______________

After some time, he reached the help desk.

"What's wrong, child? Are you lost?"

He looked up to see a fat lady, looking at him with a soft smile.

"M-my mom and dad! I want my parents!" He sobbed.

"What's your name?" she politely asked. She was afraid of making him cry all over again.

"Sh-shibu." he hiccupped.

She pulled out a drawer and took out a giant lollipop, offering it to him in hopes of making him happy.

"Here, take this. We will find your parents soon."

The child shook his head and started crying yet again, "I want my parents!"

"Attention, please! We have a lost boy named Shibu, who was found near the help centre, and he is looking for his parents. He is six years old, and he is wearing a blue shirt and khaki pants. You can find him at the help counter at the main exit. Thank you."  

______________

Within fifteen minutes, he was blissfully hugging his mother, face streaked with tears and her wrinkles looking a lot prominent.

His father tried putting on a stern face and scolded him for not listening to them when they told him to stay put. But even he couldn't feel help but feel relieved. His half-empty wallet was the last of his worries as he took his hand in his and took him to a sweet shop.

"Pick any one of them shibu." He lovingly looked down at him and picked him up so that he could get a better view.

But the child shook his head. Without sparing even a glance at the colourful sweets with silver linings, he jumped down from his father's embrace. 

Holding out both his hands he held their hands and happily went home with a content heart since he knew that nothing can be compared to his greatest treasure that anyone could ever possess, his parents' love.