The moment she thought of writing something while holding it, the pen would start moving. It could even draw pictures. What a wonder! Uncle had not mentioned any of this. He had simply given it like any other gift.
He had said, “This is a foreign pen. I am giving it to you. Keep it carefully. Make sure you do not lose it.” And lastly, he added, “If you lose it, you will suffer a loss.”
What kind of loss Uncle did not explain. Tinni did not ask either. Soon she realized that the pen could write correct answers to any question. Even if she did not know something, it somehow wrote the right answer. Strange indeed. She could hardly believe it. She felt like shouting and telling everyone but then thought it might be better not to say anything yet. She decided to verify in school whether the answers were really correct.
Tinni had always been weak in mathematics. English grammar did not make much sense to her either. At home, she often felt cornered because of this, and at school, she could not express herself freely even with her good friends. She always carried a sense of hesitation. But now she could finally outdo them. She felt immense joy, yet could not share it with anyone. It reminded her of Rabindranath Tagore’s famous line, “Who will share my joy?”
The next day was Monday. She got ready faster than usual and left for school. It was not far from home. After placing her books in class, she went for prayer. That day, she stood confidently among the better performing students. Some whispered, but she did not care. A strange confidence had grown within her, thanks to Uncle’s pen. In her mind, she thanked it and even gave it a name, “Priyobondhu,” meaning Dear Friend. No one else knew about it. She wondered if Uncle knew. She had thought of telling her mother in the morning but did not.
The first class was English. Seeing her homework done perfectly, the teacher praised her. Then came mathematics, and she performed beyond expectations there too. She silently thanked Priyobondhu.
The next morning, she woke up very early. She had seen Priyobondhu in her dream. It said, “I am happy that you are glad to have me and that your studies are improving. But if you stop studying and rely only on me, I will disappear. Also, do not tell anyone about me, not even your mother. You may tell your uncle, but not now. Definitely not your friends. If you do, the result will not be good. Remember, your uncle knows everything but did not tell you. He was waiting to see your results. Tell him now, and you will understand. I have come to help build your success and confidence. But if you stop studying, I will not be able to stay with you.” Saying this, Priyobondhu vanished, and Tinni woke up.
Meanwhile, as her studies improved, her number of friends increased. Everyone wanted to sit with her, talk to her, and share tiffin. She enjoyed it. Often, while talking, she would slip her hand into her bag just to feel the pen and check if it was there. She even wondered what would happen when its ink ran out.
But who really likes studying? If success could come without effort, that would be best. Slowly, Tinni began drifting away from her studies. After some days, she completely forgot Priyobondhu’s advice.
One day, while trying to solve a math problem, she reached into her bag and found that the pen was gone. It had disappeared. Tears filled her eyes. “What have I done?” She cried. Immediately, she opened her books and started studying again, just as the pen had advised. She thought Priyobondhu must have gone to someone else like her, to build their confidence too.
Should she tell Uncle about the pen? Did he really know about all this? And how could she tell him she had lost such a valuable gift? Surely he would not take it well.
The next day at school, she was shocked. Nandita was writing with the same pen. Red with golden detailing, with a ring like clip that could turn into five fingers, used even for scratching one’s back. Pressing a button brought out ink, and the fingers could draw too. It was the same multipurpose pen. Had Nandita stolen it from her bag?
She shouted, “Nandita, give me back my pen!” The whole class was stunned.
And then she woke up. It was just a dream. She had not really lost the pen. She decided she must tell Uncle everything.
One day, she finally did. While talking to her mother, she got the phone and said, “Uncle, I have lost the pen you gave me.” She burst into tears. “It was so wonderful. Whatever I thought, it wrote instantly. It solved difficult math problems and corrected my English grammar. After getting it, my studies improved a lot. You can ask Ma. This time my results were very good. I stood third in the exams. I will study harder to do even better. Please do not feel bad that I lost your gift.”
After hearing everything, Uncle laughed and said, “Oh, silly girl! Can a pen really do all that? I told you those things so that you would focus on your studies. And you did. That is why your results improved. Now study even harder. Forget about the pen and concentrate properly. You will see your results get even better. Next time, you will surely come first. And then I will give you another such gift. You will keep moving forward in life without looking back.”
Hearing this, Tinni’s heart filled with joy. Her tears vanished instantly. With hope of receiving another wonderful gift, she immediately opened her books and began studying again.
