I grew up in a very small town in Uttar Pradesh and during summers, my brother and I would sometimes sell lemonade on the roadside. We didn't make a lot of money, but we enjoyed selling lemonade to people passing by.
One hot afternoon, my brother and I were standing at our lemonade stand when we saw an old, rusty car pass us two or three times. At the time, it seemed a little scary to me. Eventually, the car slowed down and stopped right in front of the stand.
There was a woman in the passenger seat and as she rolled her window down, I saw she was really thin with gray hair, a sickly pale complexion from too much smoke. I could not see the man who was driving very well because he never looked at me and kept looking straight ahead. They both looked very strange and their clothes were old and dirty.
"You boys here alone selling lemonade?" The woman asked in a hoarse voice.
"Yes, my mother gives us," I replied.
"is your mother at home?" He asked.
"Yeah, he's in the house," I said.
The woman turned and looked at the man who was driving. He nodded, still looking straight ahead.
The woman turned to me and said, "Okay, I'll drink lemonade."
"That'll be ₹5," I told him while pouring a glass.
She turned around in her purse and I heard coins rumble. Then he took out a bill of ₹ 20 and placed it in front of me. A cold went down my spine.
Why was she giving me a bill of Rs 20 if she had coins in her purse?
Something didn't seem right.
"I have no change," I lied.
"You can keep the change," he said with a smile. "Just come and take it."
Something felt very wrong, but 20 ₹ is a lot of money for a child.
I went to the car and went to collect ₹ 20 from his hand.
As soon as my fingers touched her, the woman suddenly grabbed me by the wrist and started dragging me into the car.
I pulled out my lungs and my brother ran towards the house screaming for help. The man hit the accelerator and the car leaned forward. I fought with all my might and managed to free myself from his grip. The car stopped and the man got out, but I was already running for my life.
My brother was banging on the door and screaming. My mom ran and I turned just in time and saw a rusted, old car going at high speed. We told our mother what had happened and she called the police.
When my brother and I calmed down and went back to the lemonade stand, a bill of ₹ 20 was lying on the ground. We packed up the lemonade stand and put it away for good.
