It was a bright, sunny Saturday morning. The sun shone higher in the sky than usual, and the breeze blew gently. I saw the beautiful view -- lush green grass, the tall trees with their ripe fruit and beautiful, colourful flowers blooming.

Several butterflies of different colours fluttered happily around. Birds chirped loudly and filled the air with the sound of their soft, but soothing melody. However, it saddened me to see the piles of trash which destroyed this beauty.

I saw an old lady, Mrs Evergreen, walking slowly towards her black car with the help of her brown walking stick. She wore a huge, bright smile, despite the pain in her leg, which passed on the energy to those around her. Then, suddenly, she slipped over a banana peel, that had been thrown carelessly along the path, and fell to the ground. Her smile was frozen on her face.

Mrs Evergreen’s brown walking stick clattered and lay sprawled a few feet away from her. Immediately, several people who saw her fall rushed out to help her. Mrs Evergreen’s daughter, Emma, was in the front. Her face turned anxious and her forehead was scrunched up in worry. It was she who called an ambulance to take her mother to the hospital.

After a few anxious hours, Emma called to say that Mrs Evergreen would require a surgery. The doctors were saying that she would also have to be bedridden for six weeks after the surgery. Upon hearing this news, everyone in the neighbourhood turned pale. Then, our community leader, Mr Walter, asked the question that everyone had been dreading.

“Who threw the banana peel?” Mr Walter asked angrily.

“Me,” mumbled a shacking John, his face beetroot red. He looked down at his shoes in shame.

“I hope you realise the severity of what you have done. Since you have owned up to your mistake, I will not punish you. However, from now onwards, I expect that everyone will use the dustbins placed in front of each house in this neighbourhood, to throw their trash,” Mr Walter said very gravely.

The children visited Mrs Evergreen and her daughter every day to help them out. Mrs Evergreen would tell the children some wonderful stories which they loved to listen to, and they helped her by planting new flowers in her garden.

By the time Mrs Evergreen was well and able to move about in the neighbourhood again, the neighbourhood looked completely transformed. There was not a bit of trash to be seen anywhere anymore. The dustbins were always full of trash and every day this trash was taken away by the clean-up trucks. Everything was absolutely spick and span.

The community looked truly beautiful and the view of the greenery from the window could be fully enjoyed now, without the trash in the way cluttering the view. We all felt much safer and happier living in this beautiful, new community.

After all, all’s well that ends well.

Published in Dawn, Young World, June 4th, 2022