How Does Fear Fool Us? The Amazing Story of a Mullaiyur Boy!

Sekar lived with his parents in Mullaiyur, a small village surrounded by green fields and colourful flower gardens. The village was known for its jasmine and marigold flowers. Every evening, the market near the temple became busy with flower sellers, vegetable vendors, shopkeepers, and people from nearby villages.

Sekar's parents sold flowers and garlands at the market. Every day, they carefully sorted the fresh flowers and tied them into beautiful garlands. In the evening, Sekar would walk with his father to the market and hand over the garlands to him.

One evening, at around 6:30, Sekar and his father were walking along the narrow path to the market. The sun was setting, and the sky was turning orange.

The fields on either side of the path were slowly becoming darker. Suddenly, they heard a rustling sound from the bushes.

Shhh... shhh...

Sekar stopped.

“Appa, what was that?” he asked.

Before his father could answer, a long grey snake slipped out of the bushes and crossed the path right in front of them. Sekar froze. His father gently held his hand.

“Don't move, Sekar. Let it pass,” he said.

The snake disappeared into the bushes. After a few seconds, Sekar let out a long breath.

“Come,” said his father. “We have to reach the market.”

Sekar followed him, but he could not stop thinking about the snake. When they reached the market, Sekar handed the basket of garlands to his father. His friends were already waiting for him.

“Sekar! Come and play!”

Sekar quickly joined them. They played near the market while the adults finished their work. Soon, the sky became darker. He suddenly remembered his homework.

“I have to go home. I still have homework to finish,” he told his friends.

He waved goodbye and started walking home. The market was still noisy behind him, but the sounds slowly disappeared as he walked farther away. Soon, he was alone on the narrow path.

Then he remembered the snake. He looked towards the bushes. He walked faster. A few moments later, he heard the same sound again.

Shhh... shhh...

Sekar stopped. His heart began to beat faster.

“Maybe it's just the leaves,” he whispered.

He took another step. Suddenly, something touched his foot. Sekar jumped.

The snake!

He looked down, but it was too dark to see clearly. He imagined the grey snake biting his big toe.

“Ouch!” he cried.

His heart went thump, thump, thump!

His legs felt weak. He wanted to run, but his feet would not move. The path began to spin around him. Then everything went dark. Sekar fainted.

Meanwhile, Sekar's father had finished selling the garlands earlier than he expected. Since it was still early, he decided to take the same path home. As he walked, he noticed someone lying on the path. He hurried closer.

“Sekar!”

Sekar slowly opened his eyes.

“Appa...” he whispered.

“What happened?”

“The snake... it bit me!”

His father looked at Sekar's foot carefully. There was no blood. There was no wound. But something was wrapped around his big toe. His father gently pulled it off. It was a dried mango seed. Sekar stared at it. He looked at his father. Then he looked at the mango seed again.

“You mean... I fainted because of this?”

His father smiled. “It looks like it!”

Sekar began to laugh. He remembered the grey snake from earlier. It had crossed the path only once. But the fear of that snake had stayed in his mind all evening. His father helped him stand up.

“Come on,” he said. “Your homework is waiting.”

Sekar laughed again as they walked home.

“Appa,” he said, holding up the mango seed, “I'm keeping this!”

“Why?”

“So I can remember never to be scared of a mango seed again!”

His father laughed, and together they walked towards the warm lights of their home.

Sometimes, our fear can make a small thing seem much bigger and scarier than it really is.