Reflection on the topic Peer Pressure - Nishan Karki

At any given point, you can release your most fabulous self. Don't let anyone hold you back. Don't let anyone dilute you. Don't be peer pressured into being less than you are. - Steve Maraboli

Reading The Art Of Focus at the Sunday School.

Peer pressure means a strong influence on a person by another person's behaviour and specific actions. It makes a person behave the same as the other, although the behaviour of the other may not be good. It is one of the significant problems of youth and societies. The primary source of peer pressure on students is their friends. A lousy friend may encourage his friend to fight, smoke, take drugs, smuggle, etc. These evil actions cause peer pressure on people.

The effects of peer pressure are:-
• Peer pressure hampers day to day life of people and creates hurdles in their lives.
• It can cause depression in case of performance of serious actions
• It creates a distraction from good works
• It leads to a change in the behaviour and attitude of people.

There are many measures to reduce peer pressure. Some of them are:-

• Avoiding fights and other serious actions
• Hanging around less with friends
• Making a reliable friend
• Concentrating more on self-work
• We should say no to bad things and yes to good.

- Nishan Karki

What is peer pressure and how can we deal with it? - Tenzin Nyesel

Generally, everyone has a circle of peers with whom they are comfortable talking and sharing things. But sometimes the circle you are in might not have the people with whom you are meant.

Sometimes, the people in our circle pressure us to do the work they demand, which might need to be corrected. When our peers give orders instead of advice, it leads us on the wrong path and makes us do bad things; that’s when we go through peer pressure. 

Peer pressure affects us not only physically but also mentally. Due to this, many people of young age get spoiled physically and mentally. They lose their concentration power. It decreases self-confidence and self-worth. Also, distances us from our family members and friends.

Tenzin Nyesel
Pestalozzi Children's Village India

Quaint Little Bookshop - AI Chatbot

A short story
This is fiction, and any resemblance to any character or persona is just by chance; we did this to test an AI Chatbot and see how we could draft a story for a book. Shmooz AI is a WhatsApp bot based on GPT 3 model from OpenAI. 

Once upon a time, a quaint little bookshop was tucked away in the heart of Dehradun called The English Book Depot. It was owned by a young woman named Millie, who was passionate about books and deeply loved the English language.

The shop was small, with shelves of books overflowing onto the floor. It was a cosy place, with a warm ambience and the scent of freshly brewed coffee filling the air. Millie would often host readings and discussions at the shop, inviting people to come and share their thoughts on literature.

One day, a young writer named Rohan stumbled upon The English Book Depot. He had been struggling with writer's block for months and desperately needed some literary inspiration. He wandered through the shelves and soon found himself lost in the pages of a novel.

As he sat reading, sipping on a cup of coffee, Millie started conversing with him about the book he was reading. That conversation led to a friendship and eventually blossomed into something more. Rohan and Millie bonded over their love of literature and spent hours discussing their favourite books at the shop.

Over time, Rohan began to write again, finding the inspiration he needed within the walls of The English Book Depot. He even published his first novel, which Millie proudly displayed on a shelf in the shop. People would come from all over the city to visit the little bookshop, drawn in by Millie's welcoming vibe and passion for literature.

Years passed, and though the shop remained small, it had become a beloved fixture in the community. Millie continued to inspire people with her love of books, and The English Book Depot remained a haven for writers, readers, and literary enthusiasts alike.

Fun exercise, Shmooz AI and Grammarly work in tandem to put together this story!

Disclaimer: This post is purely for fun and a chatbot experiment. Please read as a piece of fiction, and the blogger and the authors take no responsibility for the content or the language generated via the AI Chatbot.

What is peer pressure and how can we deal with it? - Rishona Chopra

Peer pressure is the pressure we face from our peers to do something. It indirectly or directly affects us. Often we find ourselves pretending to fit in the crowd, so we start doing things and becoming people we are not. We lose our own identity just to make 'friends'. But friends who force you to do something or friends who you cannot be yourself around aren't really friends, are they?

Each of us has our own identity, which we are given for a reason because we all are unique, we put on a different persona, and it affects no one but us.  

Being with the right company matters a lot. One ripe apple kept with ten other rotten apples will soon rot too. It is better to be alone than with bad friends. 

Dealing with peer pressure, though, is quite a challenge. Often people try to bully us by telling us that we are 'not cool' and 'boring'. But we must remember that the right path is often alone, but being alone doesn't mean we must be lonely. Ignoring people like that is the best way. We need to have a calm and composed mind that knows what is right and wrong. We do what we do, and pressuring someone needs to be corrected. 

When we start ignoring all of this, people start bothering us because peer pressure that makes you do bad things is just to trouble you or force you towards the wrong path. 

While dealing with peer pressure, we might think, "everyone is doing this", or "what could be wrong with this?" but something correct is not what the majority does. People around us may TRY to have a strong influence on us but we have to be that one person who stands on the right path, whether alone or not. Their TRY must be a left a try only and be in vain. 

Because of peer pressure, we start feeling insecure about our own selves and doubting ourselves. All our choices and decisions seem to be made by others and their opinions, but it is OUR life, OUR choices, and they cannot be changed. People may give us good advice that we should always lend an ear to, but then again, there has to be a straight line between right and wrong, people you trust and don't. 

We may need friends at this age, even if that means pretending to do things they don't. It feels terrible when you have no one to sit with you, talk to you and a person you can share your thoughts with, but it's hard to find someone like that, with who you can be yourself ( apart from your parents, of course)!

Sometimes, I am in the impact of my peers. I know what they might be doing is wrong, but I just pretend to do what they do just so I can get along with them, but then you have to remember that you have higher goals in life. You have higher aspirations than pretending or changing yourself to make friends. 

Instead of finding company outside, we can be our own friends! No one knows us better than we do, and no one ever can! 

Rishona Chopra
Grade VII
Gyanshree School

Friendship - Anvesha Rana

In this ever-evolving world, it is necessary to connect with people instantly, attain quick social skills and make friends at go. A person we may have met only once is also referred to as a friend; today, we all confuse friendship with acquaintanceship. An acquaintance is not mandatory to be a friend, but connections to reach higher posts and avail help at times of need are overrated than the subtle, sweet friendships which have vanished over time. 

Friendships come with conditions; they are no longer selfless relationships but a medium to take benefit of the other. We have turned our Friendships into obligations and formalities. How many of us are honest with our friends? We are too fake to show our real identity behind this mask of coolness. Friendships come with a lot of terms and conditions. We can no longer express ourselves freely, even with our “Besties”. 

There is an invisible ice between us, pleading to be broken, but our ego hinders us from shattering our prison. We can never be happy if we are not who we are. This era of jealousy and cutthroat competition is never ending and only increases as we grow up. 

True friends are only made when we are young when we do not pay heed to how someone looks, what clothes they wear, how they talk or whether they match our standards. As we grow, we look away from the beauty within and shift our focus to physical appearance or social stature. Looking at material things gets nowhere. 

We are not our true selves when we step out into the world; consequently, we feel the heat of the competition that this system has forced us under. We are not ready to leave this rat race and sit at the side bench to relax and rejoice in life. The illusion of success has blindfolded us in thick wraps to such an extent that terms and conditions apply in each relationship. The moment we see our friend doing better than us in any field, we are instantly jealous instead of happy for our pal. 

A famous story, ‘ The Frogs in the Well’, tells about a group of frogs living in a small well. None of the frogs ever get out of this well because as soon as one frog jumps up, all the others jump up on him and pull him down. Thus no frog can ever escape. So is the case with us. When we see a dear one doing good, we attempt all tricks, measures and strategies to somehow stop him. 

Friendship should be selfless and ever-flowing with Love and care. It should be about acceptance and forgiveness and not be built upon social norms but on the foundation of Love. 

Anvesha Rana 

Grade 11

Gyanshree School NB: I have used Love as a value, thus the capital letter.

What is peer pressure, and how can we deal with it? - Shambhavi Nautiyal

Reading Chapter 43, Sunday the 26th of March 2023

Peer pressure is the direct or indirect influence of our peers which tells us that we need to act in a certain way like the people surrounding us. It is often observed in teenage but continues as an existing matter throughout our lives regardless of age. It is a trap which makes people victims of many addicting and harmful practices. It could be wrong personality traits such as people pleasing and sometimes ruinous activities like smoking and drugs. 

It starts with compellingly curious intentions of just wanting to fit in, make friends and enjoy company, but later on, it becomes a habit. For instance, something often seen in the present youth is the following of the perpetually changing Instagram trends by young school-going teenagers to feel accepted and admired. 

We see kids going out of their way to follow social media trends and become famous because of peer pressure and the fact that this is seen as the definition of likeable and "cool". In school, too, we see popular girls and students liked by most of our peers or teachers, and we try to become like them. We observe that because of some of their habits, many people appreciate and admire them. To gain that popularity, we try to procure their idolized external features, skills or behaviours. In light of this fact, in this process, we lose ourselves. We lose our own identities. 

We never learn to love ourselves since we are compared to others by ourselves or our parents to our peers. We become even lonelier because of masking ourselves and never focusing on nurturing ourselves. We are left with no friends of our own, not even ourselves. Even when we stop trying to be like others, we still take that habit of people pleasing with us, in which we let people cross our boundaries and put them before ourselves, creating a frail sense of self-worth. However, we can fight it, come out of it and fix this whole scenario. 

As for me, I had been in some influencing company, and over time, I noticed that I had become a people pleaser and that I had been neglecting myself for my peers. I was listening more to them rather than my piece of mind. So, to fix those habits, I had to release that person from my life and start instilling healthier relationship patterns in my attitude. I had to change my outlook by changing my behaviour and thoughts. I had to make it clear to myself that it was okay for me to put myself and think about myself first before taking any decision instead of following my friends blindly and speculating about their behaviours, meaning how they treat me. I had to fix my sense of self-worth. 

So it is salient to love ourselves so that we don't compare ourselves to others and don't let others' judgements affect us, which calls out for having a deep sense of self-worth. We should practice self-compassion and not let ourselves get trapped in the vicious trap of peer pressure cause each one of us deserves to be loved, adored and treated like the queens and kings we are. So before judging yourself after seeing someone else, remind yourself of and be grateful for how confounding, worthy and attractive you are.

Always keep that in mind before wandering to search for love outside; look inside, and you will find the person who has always been and shall always be ready to love you.

Shambhavi Nautiyal Ahlcon Public School

The Lure Of Being Secure - Rishona Chopra

I think something we all feel is insecurity. At some point, we start rethinking our decisions and doubting ourselves.  Insecurity is simply a negative feeling which is really a disguise to fit in. It can be caused due to jealousy, and a lack of self-determination and optimism. Before raising our hand in class, do we feel a slight doubt about asking a particular question? We might feel what will other students think? Will they think that we don't know the answer to such a simple question. 

It is usually the thought "What will others think" that bothers us and affects us. No matter how much people say that we shouldn't care about what others say. Deep down, at some point, we do care, or at least I do. When someone says something about me in a negative way, it affects me if the person saying so is close to me as a friend or family. 

Whenever we feel something like that, we can always talk to ourselves. When I feel jealous of someone I tell myself that I am turning green with envy and that I have to turn normal again. It makes you feel better and makes a good laugh. 

Sometimes, we stop being ourselves and put on a personae of insecurity just to fit in. But, why fit in when you can stand out?

Rishona Chopra
Grade VII
Gyanshree School

Thoughts and Actions - Rishona Chopra

Karma as in what we do comes back to us. Whatever good we put out in the world, comes back to us. But is it only our actions that matter or is it also our thoughts? I can easily help somebody but it matters what I am thinking while doing so.

Karma should not be our idea of helping someone. Kindness should come from within. We might think we are fooling someone by pretending to hide our thoughts but we can't hide anything from ourselves. It is about the thoughts we have and our mind's consciousness that matters. Actions that come from the heart shine apart. 

If the thought is true the action comes out itself. If actions speak louder than words, thoughts speak louder than actions. 

Rishona Chopra
Grade VII
Gyanshree School

Opening our Wings - Rishona Chopra

Sometimes in life, things don't go your way, 
You feel disheartened and tend to go away. 
 But changes are constant, 
If you don't embrace them, you feel distant. 
The wind's direction changes, 
The sea's waves change,
Day and night change, 
With each passing day, there is a change. 
I rather go along with it than against it,
It's for our own benefit. 
I say, dear change,
Is it essential for you to play your game?
It says,
Yes, it's just a little quiz,
Do you go along or want separation?
Change is a wonderful yet a difficult thing,
It simply helps us to open our wings.

Rishona Chopra
Grade VII
Gyanshree School

My Guide - Sunday School 19th March 2023

A good teacher's qualities include communication, listening, collaboration, adaptability, empathy and patience. Other characteristics of effective teaching include an engaging classroom presence, value in real-world learning, exchange of best practices and a lifelong love of learning. A teacher's guidebook suggests different methods and techniques for a teacher while teaching in the classroom. It helps the teacher to manage a classroom, identify new approaches in the learning process, select teaching content sequentially, method suitably, materials and learning process appropriately.

Januka Basnet

In my life, so many people guide me, like my parents, house mother and my friends. Firstly there are my parents who teach me. They tell me not to go down the wrong path and what I should do in my life, and if I do something wrong, they stop me from doing that thing again. After them, my House Mother and friends, my House Mother who always told me to focus on my studies and to work hard and also guided me to stay away from wrong things and then my friends who always scolded me for don't bad things, and I am happy to have them in my life. Before all, we didn't know each other we all were strangers, but now we all stay like a family, and they always guide me for good things. I am lucky to have them in my life. 

😇
Anchal Mehra

For me the people who assist me in doing work and activities are my guide.

When I was born my first guide in this world were my parents and then after a few years I was sent to a school which was completely a nightmare for a few days, and then after I started liking to go to school. Then I met many teachers whose teaching was absolutely great and many of them gave me inspiration and motivated me to move forward now I feel like they were my “supporting stick when I was a growing plant". It's true that every start has an ending but it is also true that every ending has a new beginning, I had to say goodbye to all my old teachers but, now I have many new teachers and seniors who guide me.

Here at Pestalozzi, all the staff who contribute their efforts to make me a better version of myself have become my guide. Even Sandeep sir, Jugjiv sir, Shipika ma'am and the students attending Sunday School are now my guide.

Tenzin Jambey

Positive Attitude In Life - Sulochana Rana

Positive people can maintain a broader perspective and see the big picture, which helps them find solutions.  

We will get the following things if we have a positive attitude in our life:-

• Happiness
• Self-confidence
• Strong Immune System
• More focus

We can get a positive attitude by loving ourselves, giving time to ourselves, practising meditation, Listening to music and looking at the bright side after getting laid off.

Sulochana Rana

sr@learningforward.org.in

Spreading the joy of learning at My Good School.

Image source: https://possibilitiesunlimited.com/how-to-feel-more-positive-and-energized/

Hello from Sulochana!

Hello everyone. 

We hope you are all in the pink of health and mind. Very soon we will meet at The Sunday School. 

School is where we enhance our skills, and our Sunday School is the best place where we share ideas, have our points of view and have a healthy discussion which makes us think differently. I am very excited to meet you all. Together we will be spreading the joy of learning.

On Sunday, the 26th of March 2023, we read the chapter Positivity vs Negativity from The Fabindia School Book.

My dear ones, everyone has their own perspective on handling a situation. It can be positive or negative. You know our universe has the law of attraction. If you think positively, then only that is attractive, and if you start thinking negatively, you will find only wrong things occurring around you, as now our focus is only on flaws. 

Always focus on positivity in your life.

Sulochana Rana

sr@learningforward.org.in

Happy to be at My Good School

The Bonds We Make - Oshi Singh

Image courtesy https://www.pinterest.com/,used by Oshi Singh for representation only. 

People often say, 'I would be happy if I had that!' This often makes me wonder how a small thing can make a man happy, but after all, we're living in a materialistic world.

A world where nothing lasts forever, and neither do these small worldly things. All that lasts forever are the relationships that we build. Because when we take our last breath, we shall see how kind the world really is and whether or not we earned the badge of being remembered. Relationships are the only bonds; they will never fade if they are strong enough. They might not always be happy and joyful, you will have your ups and downs, but it's up to you to make it last forever.

You might argue that even relationships meet an end. But do they really? Relationships are the strongest bonds which may feel like a rollercoaster at times but will always be a forever-stored memory & it's in our hands to make it a good one.

A good relationship isn't one with the most minor disagreements but one which has risen above their differences. Because even at the very end, these people shall never forget you and keep you in their hearts. So let's enjoy & celebrate our time with our loved ones in the time we have. After all, life's too short to hold a grudge.

Oshi Singh
VIII D 
Gyanshree School 

Reference: https://in.pinterest.com/pin/409686897326601168/

Tolerance - Khushi Badgeri

Tolerance is the ability to deal with something annoying or where we disagree or show unwillingness to accept the situation.

Tolerance also means the patience to listen carefully and to treat people with dignity and respect while you disagree silently. Tolerance has limits. tolerance also means treating others the way you would like to be treated. Tolerance is a sign of wisdom and care. Let me share a small incident that happened with me. There was a girl in my class who would keep irritating and bullying me. At times she would be very much testing my patience. I would always try to keep my mind cool and avoid talking to her.. Once it  so happened that we were given a similar science project in our class. She was so overconfident that she thought her project would be the best. I kept myself cool and wished for the best project win and to my surprise my project was not only selected and appreciated but also kept for display in the school. There I understood the true meaning of patience and tolerating the person in the situation was rewarded. 

So my Dear friends, tolerance is keeping our minds cool in any situation and acting wisely.

Khushi Badgeri

Grade III A

Finland International School, Thane

Three Knowledge Domains #JoyOfLearning

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Three Knowledge Domains:
1. Foundational knowledge (to know)
2. Meta knowledge (to act)
3. Humanistic knowledge (to value)
Source: TeachThought

#questionsworthasking 
How can we apply these three knowledge areas to the workplace?
Comment below, and share your thoughts.

If you enjoy this post, please like it and share it with your network.

#innovation #leadership #leaders #coaching #learning #HR #HRBP #CHRO #CEO #CMO #CFO #CIO #engagement #change #wellness #diversity @teachthought

Courtesy @drdavidweiss via LinkedIn

Thank you, Dr Lee Kwan Meng, from Malaysia #joyoflearning #mygoodschool

Very much like the My Guide Inside philosophy by Christa Campsall!
Mind I Consciousness | Thought

The key is critical thinking.

The Regret Of Not Boarding - Reveda Bhatt

Sometimes, some things fail to occur as planned and welcome to curse upon the forces of nature because, in that moment, they turn out to be unfavorable for our plans. Every happening around the world has a reason. When we know what went wrong, the reason is known, but when we don’t and it doesn’t happen according to our will, it is reason unknown. But is it unknown or planned? Well, I would call it planned.

Years ago, a Gentleman entered his house with two tickets in hands, excited. He called for his wife and discussed the reason of his happiness with her, the tickets! They were to board a cruise in about a week! Being a part of a mediocre family, he loved getting things for free, so a portion of his ”so-happy mood” was that the two children they had were under the age of charging for tickets. On hearing that, his wife squeaked with excitement and hugged him too tight. In a good mood, she made nice dinner and the husband was proud of himself that he bought the tickets which made the wife happy. Children were happy and of five and 3 years of age. The couple was ready for the sail and everything was moving as planned. Packing started, the wife packed whatever they could need; shoes, caps, clothes, shawls and swimsuits, even some candies but Mom still felt like they were short of something-Now was it luck?

Six days to go, ready to pack.

Five days to go, ready to buy.

Four days to go, all ready.

The excitement level increased with each passing day. It was only three days left for their departure that Mom found her three-year-old crying. She saw the redness in his eyes and touched his forehead which was burning hot! He had caught a fever. She measured his body temperature via the thermometer which she had already packed. The reading was 101.2*F! High fever, just before their trip. The couple decided to drop the plan as parents see nothing ahead or before their children and checked if the tickets could be refunded. The website read, “No Refunds.” That was the end of it, the plan.

The man woke up with a headache on the day they “were” to leave, because, subconsciously, he was thinking about the money which couldn’t be refunded. Later that day, they were watching news headlines while having brunch when, suddenly, a breaking news flashed across the screen, reading, “THE TITANIC HAS SUNK!” Now, that was the ship they had to board! With that, they let out a sigh of relief, and the meaning of this whole situation for them entirely changed. Now, would we call it a mistake or a blessing in disguise?

Reveda Bhatt - The Aryan School

An example where I have shown patience - Sunday School Reflections 12th March 2023

Patience is the ability or quality of a person to bear and accept the delay of things without becoming angry or upset. It is a possession that every human has and resides in. But the thing is, we have to implore and find or discover it within ourselves. 

Music has its own way of convincing and pacifying others. It has always been my source of comfort, relaxation and calmness during life's hardships and stressful times. A moment in my life where I showed true Patience was when I had just started learning guitar. I struggled to play and hit the right chords and notes initially. I started taking learning guitar as a burden as it consumed most of my free time and prevented me from giving more time to my studies. But I still needed to drop it halfway. Eventually, in a few months, I felt more comfortable and enjoyable whenever I played my guitar. I learned from this event of my life that not only hard work, Patience, and determination are keys to success, and the result you get when you put all three together is always fascinating, magnificent, extraordinary and exceeds your satisfaction.

Tenzin Norsang

"To lose patience is to lose the battle."- Mahatma Gandhi.

Patience is the ability and capability of anybody to prevent anger and accept calmness when something takes place after a long time. It is the ability that everyone must possess and use at the right time, place and moment.

Patience is essential because we need to use it in our daily life. If we have the Patience to do things, it will be helpful for us, and if we do not acquire enough Patience to do something, we may face many troubles in our life.

These troubles may create barriers and problems in our daily life. I am a person who possesses many good qualities and abilities. One of ability is Patience. I use my best Patience at the right place and time for my benefit. I have shown my Patience many times. I am one of the incidents in my life where I have demonstrated Patience.

Before coming to Pestalozzi, I studied at a school popularly known as Umling School. I had many good friends there. One day my friend and I were coming back from school. On the way, my friend said he had some work in a nearby shop. He requested I wait for some time. I did as he told me to do so. I waited for a long time seeking his arrival. Finally, after half an hour, he came back from the shop. He requests my apology for being so late. He told me a long queue at the shop prevented him from doing his work and returning quickly. Without any delay, we continued to walk home after this. This was one of the parts of my where I showed Patience.

Tenzin Jambey

Pestalozzi Children's India Village

The Chaos - Vani Pandey

A girl strolled down the hill

With blossoms in her hands,

A little puppy accompanied her

To complete her errands.

And just then came an enormous bird,

Carrying her away,

Her puppy kept on yapping,

But the girl asked it to stay. 

She struggled to get the bird's nib off her,

And once she got free,

She fled down like a small hurt bird

And waiting for somebody to hear her plea

But thanks to her fate,

There was a river there

She plunged straight through it

Like a smoldering flare 

That was the end, she thought

While making herself stable on the ground

But who knew that there were

A series of chaotic occurrences waiting to be found.

Vani Pandey

VIII C 

Gyanshree School 

What success means to me - Tenzin Jambey

Reflecting on the Art Of Focus session on Sunday, the 5th of March 2023

The term success means achieving your dreams and your goal. To achieve success one must follow the path of happiness which means that we should do the things which makes us happy. One can only achieve success when you do work that makes you happy.

For me being successful at something means achieving happiness. I always try to do the things which make me feel happy and I enjoy doing what I have an interest in. Then we never get bored doing it therefore to gainthe success we must follow the path of happiness.

Tenzin Jambey

Pestalozzi India Children's Village 

SOME SECRETS MUST NEVER BE REVEALED OR EXPOSED - Part II

I quickly hid my head under the window pane. My body was shivering convulsively, and I could not get a hold of it. I tried taking deep breaths to calm myself down from what I had seen. The murder was so fresh a thought in my mind that it prevented me from thinking of solutions. After a few minutes of intense thinking, I realised that calling the police for help would be the best solution. I took out my phone from the back pocket of my jeans and dialled 999 with haste. Unfortunately, the network was too low to make contacts, and I cursed the government for not establishing an exemplary network system in the town. I was so engrossed in finding a solution that I had hardly noticed that I was utterly drenched in sweat due to fear. Evidently, I was of no help; therefore, I decided to head back to my apartment and said to myself that I would report the crime the following day. 

I was about to leave when I heard mumbling from the dining room. I froze for a while. The two men were having a conversation with each other. I gathered every ounce of courage left in me and peeked through the window yet again. The scar-faced man was saying something to his partner in crime in an undertone voice. I could neither hear nor interpret what he was saying to his pal. Suddenly, the second man turned around and came face to face with his partner. He had a stern countenance and held a sharp, steely knife, still stained with blood. He was smoking a cigar in his mouth and took a deep puff of it. He then said in a loud and clear voice.

"Dispose of the body somewhere no one in this town can find. Inform everyone in the colony that she moved to another city after finding a better job. These are commands from our boss."

The former wore his gloves and tossed the immobile dead body over his shoulder. The second man started speaking again.

"You do know why we were ordered to kill her, don't you?."

"Yeah."

The second man grinned and began laughing like a lunatic. He again took a deep puff of his cigar and continued.

"This silly woman was trying to know our whereabouts and our motives. How dare she? Not only did she know that we were murderers but also that we were members of the deadliest criminal organisation, ' The Illuminati'. Poor Ms Plank died a painful death. Alas! She had to pay for her sins. Trying to inform the police about our following motives. Yes, she deserved such a painful death. 'The Illuminati' must never be exposed. Well then, let's get going, shall we?"

I was just amazed and wonderstruck. For a second, I thought the world had paused for a while. Did I hear it correctly? I was asking the question to my conscience again and again. "What, 'The Illuminati'? " I believed that Illuminati was nothing more than a rumour.

My body had started releasing adrenaline in an excess amount that my legs were not moving even on my command. I managed to hide behind a bush somehow. I saw the men carrying away the body along with them. I stayed there until they left and immediately made my way home. The fear and horror were so immense that I couldn't sleep that night. The dead body of Ms Plank kept coming into my inward eye, making me feel uneasy and anxious. The first ray of sunlight entered my room no sooner than I got ready to go to the police station. A thought struck me just as I was about to leave my apartment. The woman killed last night must have done the same thing, informing the police about the criminal organisation. I suddenly realised that I was about to repeat the same mistake which Ms Plank committed, which resulted in her death.

I thought I would also die a throbbing death if I complained about the organisation since they are 'The Illuminati' and will surely come to hunt me down. I steadily went back to my room and seated myself on my bed. I tried to console myself that my decision not telling the police about the murder last night was best for me and convinced myself that "Some Secrets Must Never Be Revealed Or Exposed'.
Tenzin Norsang