“One day back there in the good old days when I was nine and the world was full of every imaginable kind of magnificence, and life was still a delightful and mysterious dream ...” The story begins in a mood of nostalgia. Can you narrate some incident from your childhood that might make an interesting story?

Nostalgia is a mixed feeling. This feeling comes to us when we think of happy times in the past. The story begins in a mood of nostalgia: ‘One day back there in the good old days ....’ Everyone is faced with such a mood now and then. And I am no exception.

I remember those good old days of my childhood. I was just a boy of nine, then. My family was the poorest family in the village. But we were proud of our family. Everyone respected us for our integrity and honesty. I was considered to be a worthy descendant of the family.

Our school was about a km away from the village. On the way, there was an apple orchard. My classfellows got the wind that the gardener was away on some job in the town. That was a sure signal for mischief. They sneaked into the orchard. They dragged me too with them. To tell you the truth, I too was tempted. I plucked some apples. I justified my action. I thought plucking apples for eating was not the same thing as stealing them. After all, I was not going to sell them.

Then came the pangs of conscience. I feared that it would bring a bad name to my family. I overcame my temptation. In the evening, I went to the gardener and returned all the apples.