Chandu, a small-town boy, was once walking past Srihari's tea stall. Suri, the keeper of the stall, was busy juggling between the customers and his books."

"Need a cup of bitter tea with 2 spoons of sugar," said Chandu, while he sat on the bench laid outside the stall trying to choose the perfect snack from the snack jars displayed on the wooden planks.

It was a humid day with no sign of rain. The weather became a debatable topic and the tea stall took the podium.

After much introspection, Chandu finally selected the butter toasts that were getting ready on Manu's earthen stove. Manu, a little girl whose age was a mystery. Her determination to be her mother's pillar melted the heart of Srihari. It's been 4 months since Manu has been serving crunchy butter toast to the tea lovers at the stall, in return, she got a little space that well accommodated her stove, her bread loaves & butter, herself and the other necessities.
Manu's curious little brain could read Chandu's anxious mind. In a soft voice, she asked, "what is troubling you so much?"

Chandu, an introvert, quietly nodded his head.

Manu, understanding the situation, decided to remain silent at that moment." You can enjoy my special crunchy toast while I go and serve the rest", said Manu.
Though she went back to her earthen cubicle, her eyes didn't stop searching for the answers to Chandu's wrinkled forehead. The alone time took Chandu to a world of his own where trespassing was an obsolete term.

It was that time of the evening when the sun was on its way to bid adieu for the day. Waking up from his dream world Chandu realised it was time to leave. Manu was settling her little business when suddenly she heard Chandu's chanting. Lifting her eyebrows she looked at Chandu, surprised to see him utter more than just words. With twinkling eyes like an excited child, she kept staring at Chandu.

After about five minutes she thought it was time to leave or it would turn dark.
The moment she started walking she heard Chandu say, "The path to my misfortune has been carved by me alone,the misery that has come my way has been brought by me alone, the pain that doesn't seem to leave me has risen from the ashes of happiness that i have burnt with my own hand,no one seems to trust me anymore,I don't see my brothers standing behind me lest i fall,I no longer get the smell of my fathers trust,my little sister Asha will never be seen oiling my hair before bedtime,the streets of shyam lane will never witness my skills at cricket,my mother’s hand will no longer be seen making tea and butter toast for me,I see the whole world shatter and fall right in front of me.”

Listening to the loud thoughts Manu decided to ask Chandu once whether she could be of any help to him.Hesitatingly she moved ahead with the decision she made,taking baby steps she went and stood three steps away from Chandu,gaining a lot of courage she said, “I hear your troubles clearly,understood,ummm...rather tried to understand,you were stammering a little because of which I missed a few important points,your face seems flushed,your fist might break the bench in no time and your eyes….Ahhh!....they make my hands tremble.Hence,I came to the conclusion that I should ask you without fearing much whether I could be of any help to your volcanic self.But,decision still remains in your hand whether to accept my kind help or ignore it.Until then I will stand here quietly without disturbing your self-talk.”
Chandu, who was lost in his contemplation was suddenly brought out of his closet.Manu’s posture,half bent and half standing with hands supporting her lean waist,her already big eyes made bigger to create an impact,was hilarious and surprisingly Chandu fell into the trap of the innocent plan.Witnessing him laugh was the best thing she had seen throughout the day,the day no longer felt humid or gloomy.Manu’s natural nature of spreading happiness and joy created a beautiful mark on Chandu’s face.But sadly the happiness soon was shadowed with the memories of the past which spread a gloom on his beautiful smiling face.
Tears rolled down his eyes that didn't seem to stop that day.Manu, looking at the increasing darkness offered him to take shelter in her house.After much persuasion he agreed to go along with her.

Surrounded by beautiful greens was a little hut with thatched roof and mud walls,slightly bigger than Manu’s cubicle,a place that could accommodate two but surely not three.Serving the customary welcome drink,water,she sat on the opposite raised platform outside the house waiting for him to share his cause of pain and worry.

Putting the glass down he said,”You remind me of my sister whom I raised like my own daughter.Her eyes similar to yours,big and bright like the sun,her smile had the power to remove pain from the lives of the ones stuck with sorrow,her heart wide as the ocean that could never stop giving,her voice had a melody that could lure anyone she spoke to,her giggles made the each of us in the house laugh wholeheartedly.Her creative letters still hides in my pocket.Here,have a look,these are not simple letters but drawings made that creatively reveal her entire days work.She even had a few made on Riju’s daily routine from which I comprehended the illegal trade that he was doing.It was not something he got into willingly but was pushed into.”

“What was the trade?How did he get involved in it?”asked curious Manu.

“My family has been into business for years now,we are manufacturers and distributors of pickles and jams.In our village our brand was the very fast one that started the marketing of jams and pickles.The art of making these tasty preserves were known by all but making a business out of it was first thought by my mother which became highly successful.The manufacturing unit mainly comprised of family members,friends,a few neighbours who had volunteered to render support when we wanted to scale our business.

It was within a span of six months that we had two factories and hundred staffs working for us.It was surprising and exciting at the same time.All this was only possible because of my mother’s idea and will power along with the support of each and every individual who was involved in making our business a success.But,as good things were happening there was an evil that did not fail to lay its hands on our happiness and success.

My uncle’s son Riju was studying in college then and had fallen into the trap of drug abuse,none in the family was aware of this.Had my grandfather knew about this,he would have disowned him long back.At the same time there were issues in the business too.
The quality of the pickles were no longer being liked by the customers,they frequently raised complaints against the taste and the ingredients used and also the expiry date.Pickles were getting spoiled very soon and jams lost their texture.The orange jam lost its charm,it no longer looked or tasted the same as before.”

The letters had revealed the truth behind the downfall of the business.Riju used to steal bundles of money from the vault where cash received from the customers was kept. This entire vault was looked after by Shyamlal, an old family friend whom we could all trust with closed eyes. He used to be told to go and have his lunch peacefully while the entire section would be taken care of by him, this is how he used to be fooled by him.

He cleverly used to take out a generous amount of money to buy the drugs that helped him live a peaceful life.He had crossed all boundaries when he started bringing in low quality raw materials and charging father the same as the original quality.He even fixed barter deals with few of his customers where drugs used to be exchanged for the products manufactured which were again sold in the market at a higher rate.All this would have remained hidden under the shade of his charming face and honey like sweet words.Sia’s creative drawings were a saviour when every hope seem to end.
Chandu being wise did not reveal the truth to any of his family members.He thought of solving the issue himself without letting Riju fall into trouble,afterall he was family and also a young boy who had just begun to explore the world,his career could fall apart if everyone was informed about his wrong doings.

Hence,without any delay on 12th of May he went to his bedroom at 12am when everyone was fast asleep,it was customary to retreat to one’s bedroom by 9pm sharp,any delay would cost the next day's breakfast.On entering his room Chandu noticed that he was writing something.Keeping the drawings on the paper on which he was writing he asked for an explanation.

Looking at the drawings Riju said,”Alas! These drawings will be of no use to you anymore,I have already sold half the factory to a great trader and the legal deal will be done tomorrow morning.” Chandu was appalled by the display of audacity.He went to the sitting room and gathered everyone to reveal Riju’s wrong doing.

Narrating in detail about his trade and actions taken which had been the cause of the company’s downfall,he showed them all the drawings made by Sia.His father’s eyes turned red but before he could react, Riju placed the papers of the deal made.There was nothing else that he could utter after reading the papers.Snatching the papers from his fathers trembling hands Chandu scrutinized it himself.He was flabbergasted to see his name on the papers.His proof seemed ant like in front of the evidence provided by the other.Everyone in the family were startled by what they had witnessed.Meanwhile,Chandu was already shattered by the betrayal,he could never think of being dodged so deplorably by a family member and that too by a brother whom he had seen growing up.

The word spread like fire in the village and by morning everyone in the neighbourhood was aware of the chaos that took place in Rama House.Chandu was asked to leave the village that very day and as a dutiful son he did so without giving any explanation.That was the day when he had lost everything but one thing that he never wanted to lose was his sweet memories with Sia,he carried it with him in his pocket and with a smile on his face left the village.
Manu’s tear filled eyes did not have the courage to make contact with that of Chandu’s.She held his hands and said,”It was not your fault,you are not the cause of your pain,it is destiny that has played the king here,the time was a little shaky that day but just like we human beings have our ways of working and healing,time also plays very cleverly.It knows exactly when to act and make things right.Brother,you will surely witness a change in your life where everything will seem to fall in its place and some day the truth shall surely be revealed,I pray.”

This little talk gave him the strength that he was searching for since morning. Even though she had uttered ideas like some learned man, she did not have the least idea of how he could be helped,yet,she consoled him by offering him work at her toast shop.After a moment of silence,they both gave a loud laughter and the offer by the ‘Toast Queen’ was gracefully accepted by humble Chandu.

The series of events that had often broken Chandu but also taught him to face himself stronger brought about a change in him which was different from who he has been all these years. He finally sat down with ink and paper to record every moment. The name was finally inscribed: “CHANGE-The Altered Beginning”