It was around Standard Seven, I think. It happened so long ago that I really cannot remember the exact class. Ayush, the boy this story is about, had been my friend since primary school. He is still my friend today and still loves sweets!

It was a hot summer afternoon and Ayush had come over to my house. We played chess and snakes and ladders for over an hour, laughing and teasing each other, before he went home. Everything seemed normal until mummy came back that evening.

She asked me about my day. I said, “Fine,” and she went into the kitchen. Suddenly, there was a loud shriek. My heart skipped a beat, I thought something had happened! I rushed into the kitchen and saw mummy standing in front of the fridge, the door wide open.

“Where are all the sweets I made this morning?” she demanded. I froze. “There were thirty pieces… and now there’s not a single one left!” My mind raced, trying to understand the shocking mystery. “Did you eat all of them?” she accused. I shook my head. “Then did you share them with your friends, or give them away?”

Mummy was very upset that day. Nothing I said could convince her. As punishment, she told me I would have no dinner that night. I felt really hurt. The truth was that I hadn’t eaten even one sweet! I was determined to prove my innocence.

That evening, I went straight to Ayush’s house. I confronted him gently at first, but he denied everything. Just then, his mother came from the kitchen. “Good, Alan,” she said. “I was going to bring the sweets back to your house myself. I found them neatly packed in paper in his school bag.” Soon after, she and Ayush came over to my home. Ayush admitted his mistake and apologized to my mother. There were only ten sweets left (yes, he had eaten twenty!), but I was happy to have proved my innocence.

Even today, whenever Ayush eats a sweet, I glance at him and he looks down, slightly embarrassed. I think neither of us will ever forget the day my friend cheated me.