Creative Thinking Saved the Day

A Story by Ridhwanul

A young group of kids get together and clean up the mess of the society. This is about young generation doing something.

Some months ago when my family shifted to Mohammadpur, something really bothered me. There was this stinky smell which made me feel like vomiting. Later I tried to find the place form where the smell was coming. I discovered that it was in our home but rather it was from outside our house. So, I went out to find out where its source was. I went out and walked forward; slowly the smell became heavier and was worse than before. I even tried to stop my breath, but I simply failed to avoid the smell. However, I was right that it was from outside somewhere.

In the corner of a street there was this big factory which was full of rubbish. It was impossible for me to stay there, so I ran back to my house.

“Mom, dad!” I shouted while I took off my shoe. “Can you smell anything here?”

“I do! I do! It is your stinky shoe. Yuck!” my brother affronted me, though I felt irritated, I took my shoe and sniffed at it and really it was stinky.

“Yuck!” I felt like vomiting so I just threw it. My brother and my parents started laughing. I thought of washing it so I took it to the bathroom and washed it properly and after that it was better.

“You sock are not any less.” My brother was now getting to my nerves.

“Shut up!”

“Sorry, I don’t know how to shut the up. If I look up I see the wall.”

“Mom! Please tell him to stay quite.” I groaned.

“Sumon, do not irritate your brother.” My mother said as if she was enjoying it.

“What do you want to say, Ridhwan?” at last my father let me speak.

“Can’t you guys smell anything?” I asked surprised.

“I said, it is your socks now.” Sumon kept on irritating me.

“Mom!”

“Hmm. There is a little bit smell there.” my dad said while he sniffed to get the smell.

“What do you mean by a little? It is the worst smell ever. I will die in this place.”

“Look it is nothing odd in Bangladesh. It is a common thing and we have to adjust with it.” Dad did not show any sympathy for me.

“Look, we newly shifted here, now there is no chance of changing the place so please try to adjust with it. Moreover, it will be easier for you and your brother because now your school is nearer.” Mom’s sympathy did not work for me, but I knew it just useless to talk about it.

“But I still think the smell is from his sock.” My brother jokes were not funny to me and I knew that I will have a fight with him by today, so I just went to my room and shut the door.

I tried several ways to stop the smell coming to my room but it was not stopping. I could not come with a perfect solution except cleaning the place. I had the full agreement with it but I had no support. I tried asking my friends but none of them accepted. All of them were afraid of the smell.

Therefore, I thought a plan for it that is that we will wear a mask which will be sprayed with beautiful scent so rather that inhaling the bad smell we will inhale a good smell, but still no body accepted to come to help me.

Two days went thinking about it. I even asked my neighbors they said they are also fed up with the smell, but they do not accept to go and clean the place because it stinks a lot. But among my neighbor one of them, Pabel accepted to help me, but I believed that we two can’t be enough.

We thought about it a lot and decided to deceive all of them. Pabel and I decided to tell everyone that an old man said us who lives near the factory, that long time ago a thief entered the factory and hid his stolen thing there. Pabel and I hoped that everybody will believe us and will get anxious to know about it which will bring them here to keep it.

Our plan did a success this time. All of them believe us. I thought to not make them sad when they clean the place, so I decided to buy a box and keep something there. Therefore, I bought a box and kept a note and eight chocolate as their reward. I locked the box and after that Pabel and I visited the factory and hid the box in the last pile of rubbish in the factory, we had our mask in the mouth. I bought the mask with the box.

Next day all my friends and neighbor arrived. Everybody was exited to find the treasure. But the question is how we will clean the place. We decided to divide the rubbish into four. We will make four boxes, one will be for metal, one would be for plastic and paper, one would be for glass and the last one would be for dirt.

Therefore, we took two hours to complete making three boxes and we decided to take some bins for the dirt rather than using cardboard box. As soon we finished making the boxes we took our gloves and mask and started our journey toward the factory, where all the others except Pabel and me had the anxiety of the treasure and Pabel and I were waiting for the whole places to be cleaned.

I did not notice at that time, but my brother was following us, he heard me telling my friends about the treasure, he was also deceived. He waited for us to clean the place and at the end he would take the treasure.

So our clean part was started and everything went good. Our working speed was quite fast. After three hours all the piles were cleaned except the last one.

“I think this one has the hidden treasure. We did not find in any other piles.” Pabel said.

“Yeah, it should be.” Teezad, one of my friend said.

“So let’s clean this pile also.” I said.

As soon we finished it the box was there and all of us were exiting to open it. So for that moment we kept it above the bin and thought about where we should keep the boxes.

“Hey! Move, the treasure is mine.” To our surprise my brother ran toward the box and jumped above it and he just dive in the river of dirt.

“What have you done?” I shouted.

“You are going to break the bin. And you will be also smelly from now.” Teezad ranted.

“Eww!” everyone expressed the same expression.

“Now see who stinks.” I said it while snatch the box from his hand.

“Hey the treasure is mine.” He shouted.

“No way, we cleaned this place not you.” Pabel replied. “Don’t be that greedy. It is not good, see now you will be really smelly. I bet it will be really hard to take away the smell from you.”

We may decide to give you some part as you are our big brother but you don’t have any right of it.

My brother could not do anything because we were eight and he was going crazy about the smell because he did not have the mask. He ran toward home and while he ran everybody near him, ran away.

Our cleaning team decided to call the recycle centre so that they can come and take these boxes of rubbish.

Soon a truck came and took the boxes and the full factory was clean. We did not know who own it but this place was like it for years and it is changed by us and we have decided to play here until the owner comes, it would be our place.

Later that day after we cleaned our self the others thought to see the box. We had to break it because I can’t show them that Pabel and I were the one who kept the box there. The note had something written by me.

‘The Treasure is something which is

Really precious and which is priceless.

Now the area of Mohammadpur can stay

In peace and no bad smell would irritate them.

By cleaning the place you had made the,

Life of people in Mohammadpur easier.

Thanks a lot for cleaning the place. Enjoy the chocolate.’

“Okay is this a joke, I am sure you guys did it, isn’t it?” Fawaz retorted at us.

“It is not a joke, it is true, man.” I said.

“You don’t how hard it is to stay in this place. It really stinks and cleaning this place had made it a lot easy for us to stay here.” Pabel said.

“Hah Ha! This is your treasure.” My brother got in my room and started making fun of us.

“Yuck! Please go away from this room you really stink.” Teezad shouted.

“Yeah really go and have a bath, you really stink.” We all accepted with Teezad and pushed my brother out of my room. Later my father came and came to know about our work and congratulated us.

Though the reward was lame to some of them, all of us felt good playing in the factory and had a proud feeling that the place was cleaned by us. And my could any more tell me that my socks stink because I would tell him that he stinks because he dived in the pile of rubbish which smelled worst anything.