Lies

Renny dreaded Mondays, the first day of the school week, because it followed the weekend. Renny, a ten-year-old girl, was a bit lazy and would put off working on her assignments, practising her guitar lessons, arranging her books, and tidying her room. Each Friday, she would plan how she would spend her weekend. There were exciting places to go to-the exhibition that had been recently put up in town, the museum where she could roam about looking at the exhibits, or her grandparents’ place, where she would be pampered by her grandparents. Grandma would prepare some delicious food for her, and Grandpa would buy her treats.

Last Friday was no different. She asked her mom if she would take her to the exhibition or the museum. When her mom said she was busy and couldn't spend the whole of Saturday taking her around, Renny asked her to drop her off at her grandparents’ place. Her mother asked her if she had any school assignments to work on or any upcoming tests to prepare for, and Renny replied that she did not have any pending tasks or exams coming up. Her mother had remarked,” I think it would be better if you devote more time to improving your Math skills”. Renny promised that she would study once she was back from her grandma’s place. Her mom said that she would drop her off at her grandma’s place early Saturday morning and pick her up in the evening. Renny was happy.

Renny’s mom dropped her off as she had promised and later picked her up in the evening. Renny had a great time at her grandparents’ place. Sundays meant Renny’s dad would be at home, and together they would spend the whole day relaxing or watching a movie, driving to the mall, etc. This Sunday too passed off in the blink of an eye. Renny slept at night, the homework forgotten.

She opened her eyes on Monday morning when she heard her mom calling her, “Get up, Renny, get ready for school”. Renny suddenly remembered that she had to turn in her Math assignment that day itself. She panicked but acted calm in front of her mom, as she had lied to her mom when she had asked if she needed to work on any assignment. She got ready for school, had her breakfast, and left home. As she waited for the school bus to pick her up, she thought about the school and her teacher. She knew that her teacher would question her about the assignment, and she could not think of any way she could complete the assignment. Renny dragged herself to the class. The rest of the pupils were discussing the assignment, and Renny had nothing to say.

“Did you complete the assignment?” her teacher asked.

Renny said, “Yes, ma’am” in a low voice.

“Submit it”, her teacher said.

Renny froze. She blurted out,” I forgot to bring it”.

Her teacher said, “ Remember and bring it tomorrow.”

Renny nodded, feeling relieved. She thought, " This was simple”. She had just said a small lie after all.

The next day, too, she was not ready with the assignment. So, she told another lie.

“ My brother spilled ink on it”.

Her teacher said,” you don’t have siblings, right?”

Renny said,” My cousin and his parents had come over for a visit. He is a little boy, and he spilled ink on my work when I was showing it to my aunt”. Another lie.

Her friend looked at her, puzzled. “ How long will your cousin be here?” she asked.

Renny smiled unwillingly and said,” They will leave on Saturday”.

When Renny got home that evening, her mom said,” Renny, your teacher called and said that you did not submit the assignment”.

Renny was taken aback. “ I submitted on Monday; she must have forgotten”. Yet another lie.

The lies were piling up like a tower that, though apparently stable, was likely to collapse any moment.

As the days passed, each lie demanded another one.

One day, her friend came over and asked about her cousin. Renny did not have an answer ready, but she said,” They left yesterday”.

Her friend pointed out that they were supposed to leave on Saturday.

All Renny could do was smile nervously.

Some of the things did not escape Renny, either. She observed that her mother’s voice sounded different to her.” Does she know that I have been lying? What if she found out?”  Such thoughts raced in her mind, and they scared her. At school, her teacher seemed to be observing her more and asking her more questions, and her friend did not talk much to her.

What had begun as a little lie had become too huge for her to handle.

One day, the truth was out.

“Renny,” her teacher said, “your mother came to school today, and she told me everything”.

Renny could not say anything. She panicked, and her mind went blank.

“ No cousin or relatives of yours had come over to your house for a visit, and you did not even tell your mother about the assignment”.

The class fell silent. The clock on the wall ticked louder.

Her teacher asked,” Why did you lie?”

A teary-eyed Renny said,” I was scared on that day, and I lied. And then I did not know how to stop.”

That was the moment when she realized that she had lied once, and in order to cover the first lie, she had to lie again, and soon it became a chain of lies. It had become so entangled that it left her no route to escape.

“I am sorry”, she said in a low voice, not daring to look up.

Her teacher nodded and said,” It may be tough to tell the truth, but it makes you feel light. Lies mess up the situation even more. “ Her teacher added,” Work on the assignment, and if you face any difficulty while working on the assignment, you can ask me”. Renny apologized again and promised to complete the work in two days.

When Renny got home from school, she went to her room and cried. She felt bad and regretted having told lies to her mother and her teacher. She realized that had she worked on her assignment without being lazy, all this could have been avoided.

Her mom knocked on the door and asked Renny to have her evening snack. Renny could not look into her mom’s eyes and hung her head in shame. She said, “ Mom, I am sorry for everything,” and then she told her mom everything from the beginning, without omitting anything.

She expected her mom would give her a dressing down, but her mother simply said,” Mistakes are a part of growing up. We can fix the mistakes if we accept that we are wrong and are willing to correct them”.

Renny nodded her head and was determined to rectify her mistake.

The next day she stood in front of her class and said”, I lied. I did not complete the assignment, I made up stories to cover up that. I am sorry”.

There was silence.

Her teacher said,” Tell me the truth always, and I will help you”.

Renny smiled, and she felt lighter than she had in many days because truth, though heavy it might feel, is lighter than many lies.