The Telescope - A Short Story by V Varsha Shree

 The Telescope

Once, there lived a ten-year old girl whose name was Reva. She used to do everything well, but she did not know what to become. She would rack her brains trying to find out, but to no avail. So, she would think to herself, “Everyone knows what to become. Why am I always so confused?” She would then think again, but in vain. 

One day, she and her parents went to a toy-store, to buy a gift for her five-year-old cousin, as his birthday was just three days away. When she was looking for a suitable gift, a toy-package fell on her head. She picked it up and read what was written on it. It said:

This Do-It-Yourself mini telescope kit lets you see far-off planets and study their surface. High clarity provided by the strong lens! Great for little astronomers and space-scientists!

She turned it over. It had fascinating pictures of the moon and various planets. At first, she thought it would be a perfect gift for her cousin, but then decided he was too small for it. 

In the end, she got a model robot for her cousin, and the telescope kit for herself. She built it that very day. She started using it the next day. She was excited the first time she used it. She had spotted Mars!

The years passed. Now, Reva was waiting for her tenth grade results. She had forgotten her dreams. She had dismantled her telescope, and had put it in one of her old shelves in her attic.

The next day, when the results appeared, she saw that she had excelled in all her subjects. She told the news to her parents. They were ecstatic. Once the ecstasy died out, her father said “Good job. Now, since you have some time, clear out all your useless books and toys from the attic.” Reva agreed. She borrowed a dusting cloth from her mother, and got to work.

She had cleaned up most of the trash, and had put all the trash into different garbage bags to be sorted, when she saw a dusty old chest-of-drawers. “I must clean this up too. There must be a lot of garbage in it.” she thought to herself. She dusted it thoroughly. Then she opened the topmost drawer, to find useless bits of paper. She put it in the appropriate garbage bag. Then she opened the second drawer. She found moth-eaten rags, which, again, she put in the appropriate garbage bag. When she opened the third drawer, she found a dusty box. When she dusted it, she saw what it was. It was her telescope!

Like lightning, her memories and dreams, came back to her. Her dreams were back.

Reva grew up to be one of the leading space scientists of her country. She led her country’s best space missions, and gained fame all over the world.

~V. Varsha Shree