Perhaps a Little Too Much Daring!

'The ripe one, pick the ripe one', shouted Ahan, a tall, loquacious boy of thirteen. He was addressing Ranbir who was trying his best balancing on the thickest branch of the station's mango tree. Ranbir was a muscular, dark boy, slightly elder than Ahan. He was new in town and Ahan was his first companion. The boys were trying to pick some mangoes before the station master could catch them.

The station was a forbidden area. No one actually cared about it. Only the small group of people cared who lived in the small town just opposite to the station. Ahan and Ranbir were from that little town.

'I know what I'm doing. It's just early summer so how do you expect juicy, ripe fruits at this time? Just shut your mouth.', replied Ranbir sourly. Ahan, being annoyed turned to the other side and shouted again. 'Is that Baaz? Hey Baaz! Care for some ripe mangoes?' cried Ahan. When Ranbir heard about the ripe mangoes, he nodded in disbelief. 

Baaz, an emaciated but strong boy of twelve, stood on the other side of the station. He had keen eyes and a smile on his face by the friendliness of Ahan. He had a silver bracelet on his left hand which was called Kara. He also wore a turban. They called it the Pagari.

Ranbir saw Baaz for the first time. He couldn't see his face clearly as he was standing far from them. The Kara blazed in the daylight which also obstructed him from getting to know how Baaz looked. 

Baaz crossed the railway tracks and made a great jump to get to the other side. Ranbir could now see him, clearly. So now he spoke,' You are a Sikh right? I saw a lot of Sikhs when I lived in Haryana. Hello mister, I'm Ranbir, k haal chaal s?', which means 'how are you' in Haryanvi. Baaz seemed pretty impressed by his welcoming spirit and so he replied,' Theek thak'. Ranbir said,' I heard that you should never take off your turban, it's disrespecting religion.' Baaz nodded and said,' Yes, bapu says never to disrespect religion. It is our identity. And never disrespect ourselves.' Ranbir and Ahan smiled at Baaz. Ahan invited him to join them at picking the mangoes.

When Baaz stood on a strong branch little higher than the ground, his keen eyes noticed the danger. Baaz shouted, 'Hey look! Isn't that a crack on the rail track?' and pointed towards a crack on the forbidden railway track. The other boys turned around to discover that the track was cracked. All the boys knew that when the next train visits the station a serious accident can take place. Ahan cried, 'Baba says that a crack in the track can be very dangerous.' And as soon as he finished, they all heard the whistle of a train.

The train was like a dragon rushing towards the crack. Ranbir said with a cracked voice,' We need to stop the train'. And then shouted,' We need to do something to stop the train. we need to find something red.' As soon as he said that both Ahan and Ranbir's eyes fell on the red turban of Baz. It felt Burning Red. Baaz knew what they were thinking. He had to take it off. But on second thought, he remembered his father, his Bapuji. Now the train was even nearer. It was coming towards them and towards the crack. Just then without thinking thrice, Baaz took off his Red Turban. He had tears in his keen eyes. Then he tore it up in three pieces and threw two of them towards his companions. It was no more a turban but a Red cloth. Jumping on the track they waved the red cloth at the train as hard as they could. All the boys had their hearts beating like a drum. 

But suddenly the nervousness and fear were conquered by a sudden satisfaction. Sudden happiness and a sudden peace. The train had screeched to a halt. The boys gazed at each other in great surprise. 

The station master came running out of his office, the pilot came down towards the boys. But the boys could not believe what they had done. Baaz could not believe what he had done.

After an investigation, the mob found out what had happened. They thanked the boys and also decided to award them for showing such bravery. 

Then the boys returned to Baaz's Bapu, who came running out after hearing the screech. He had a very serious expression on his old, bearded face. Baaz knew what Bapu could do once he gets angry. And now he wasn't sure if Bapu could still not kill him. But Bapu's serious face was long gone when he knelt down to his son, Baaz, and kept his hand on his shoulders. Baaz's long flowing hair hid Bapu's hands. Finally, Bapu spoke,' Today you showed me what I couldn't see. Taught me what could've learned ages before. And here's to you, it's not our religion what describes us, it's we, ourselves. We are our own identity. But...', and then laughed and with tears in his eyes he said,'... perhaps you are a little too much daring!'