Star Diary

The Life-changing Note

A few days ago while I was stuck at a traffic signal with some of my friends, a five-year-old child appeared at the car window. We were engrossed in a conversation and did not have any change, so we thought we were not in a position to give anything to the kid.

But the little kid did not give up easily. Seeing his stubbornness, one of my friends just took out a hundred taka note and was about to hand it over to him. As soon as the child got sight of the money, his face lit up with delight, as if it was a life-changing moment for him. As soon as he flashed this ten-million-dollar smile, the green signal flickered and the chauffer started to drive. Suddenly the little boy seemed to gain supernatural speed and ran after the hundred taka note as fast as his tiny legs could carry him. He soon caught up with the car, and as in every story hard work always pays off, so it did in this case. We were happy that we could help him and were completely surprised with what he did to get that note! Back home, I realised how things which are trifling in our world can be so important in a poor child’s world.

Sarah Sayeed Gazi
Scholastica, Dhaka

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The Lost Foreigner

A few days ago as I was heading home from school, I saw a foreigner near Lalmatia who was frantically looking at a large map. Onlookers were giving him strange looks. Out of curiosity, I went closer. On seeing me he jumped up and said, "Do you know English?" I replied in the positive. He said that he was from Korea. He had come to Aarong to do some shopping but now he could not go back to his hotel. He was sweating and was very nervous. I asked him to relax and tell me where his hotel was. I hired him a taxi cab and he thanked me and went away. Just before he left, he said out loud, "Come visit Korea some time!"

Alavi Aman
Master Mind School
Dhaka

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A Thrilling Carjacking

Last Friday, an elderly couple of our apartment building was late returning home from a party. As their chauffer was driving into the parking area of our apartment complex in Dhanmondi, an unidentified motorbike with two riders swooshed past the car inside the building. The whole thing happened in a flash! The security guard at the gate hardly had any time to object or close the gate. The two riders stopped their motor bike, brought out pistols. Then they held the chauffer and the old lady sitting in the back at gun point. The husband however managed to open the car door, jump out and run upstairs into his apartment. The onlookers froze when they saw the gun. One of the riders took the old lady's purse which hardly had any valuables. Not wanting to prolong the affair one of them snatched the keys from the chauffer and drove the car away, leaving everyone inside the apartment petrified with the suddenness of the entire incident. For me the whole affair of the car hijacking appeared to leap out of an western thriller.

Tamim Ahmed
Dhanmondi, Dhaka