Me, My Note and the Butterfly (672 words)

This is a story of mine  published in January 2011 under the "Timeout" op-ed page of The New Indian Express

It was dusk and getting dark. I was standing on the bridge over the river watching the gurgling water and enjoying with a tinge of sadness the fading skyline. The park in the distance, with dazzling lights and varied plants and flowers, looked alluring. A boat was seen swiftly moving down the river, splashing water along. I had no interest to rush home as my wife was away at her parents’ place. She was expecting.

I heard a soft voice by my side,” Sir, sorry to disturb you. Are you inclined to see a little magic?”

Startled I turned around to see a middle-aged man in much-worn jeans and a faded T-shirt with a coat that had seen much decay. His face was slightly long but there was a twinkle in his eyes suggesting a pleasant personality behind. He wore a Hawaii chappal that must have been in long use.

I asked him “What do you want?” even as I put my hand in my trouser pocket looking for small change.

He smiled at me, saying,” Please don’t bother. I am not a beggar seeking alms. I just wished to show you a magic if you are in the mood to witness.”

Feeling bad that I had hurt him, I said, “Why not? I would love to see your trick”

“Good. Give me a ten-rupee note. I will transform it into a beautiful butterfly,” he said with a faint wink of his eye.

Intrigued as I was as how he could change a ten rupee note into a butterfly, I played along and proffered a ten rupee note, watching his movements carefully. I thought I heard a sweet humming tone, and as my attention was distracted for not more than a second, he produced a multi-hued butterfly in his hands with the tenner vanishing in thin air. The insect fluttered its multi coloured wings as he handed it over to me. I was bemused and totally taken by surprise by the sleight of his dexterous hands.

I asked him, “Where is the ten-rupee note?”

“It is in your hands, sir in the form of a butterfly” he replied with a smile.

As I sheepishly smiled back at my naivette, he said he can transform a 100 rupee note into a 500 rupee one. I thought he did produce a butterfly as promised for a tenner and why not trust him for a 500 rupee note that surely would be in my hands. Greed overpowered my caution. I parted with a hundred-rupee note.

But this time I decided I would be extremely careful in focusing all my attention on him. As he took the 100 rupee note and asked me to watch carefully, I heard for a second a hissing sound of a viper by my feet, and involuntarily I jumped to see nothing near my feet. Meanwhile, he held in his hand a crackling new 500 hundred rupee note. I took it with eagerness and turned it several times.  When I asked him whether he can change one more hundred rupee note, he declined, saying, “It is my promise to my guru that I would not use this magic for profiteering or for personal benefit”

I walked back home happily thinking of my good fortune. I rang up my wife and told her of my good luck.

It was three days later when I met my good friend at Adyar and related to him about the man transforming a tenner to a butterfly, he interrupted me and asked whether I got a 500 rupee note in lieu of a hundred. Surprised I asked him whether he had spoken to my wife, he chuckled and said, “You are a sucker. That fellow has been cheating all gullible folks like you. The 500 rupee note you have is a counterfeit one. Go to the bank and check it”

It was then that I remembered the sounds of the tune and the hiss, and became aware he was a ventriloquist too, besides possibly a magician.