“Why chocolates?” I continued, “You know chocolates are junk food. Why do you need them?”
There was a short pause. Then he said, “Amma, I am not going to eat. I am going to gift. One for my badminton master, and one for my Dance Master.”That answer stopped me and I suddenly felt proud.
Grateful, even. I smiled, stopped my vehicle, and walked into a nearby shop to buy them.
And that’s where the moment changed.
Inside the shop, a little girl - around 7 years old stood near the counter.
In a calm, practiced voice, she said, “One cigarette, uncle. It’s for my appa.”
The shopkeeper didn’t question her. Since she asked for just one, he opened a fresh packet and handed her a single cigarette, loose, with no cover and it went straight into her tiny hand.
She held it between two fingers. That image cut deep.
Here I was, buying chocolates as a sign of respect and gratitude and right beside me, a child was carrying addiction home.
Her hands were too small for that responsibility. Too innocent for that habit.
I walked out with the chocolates, but my mind stayed inside that shop.
Did that parent justify it by saying, “She’s just delivering it.”
But if a child can confidently ask for a cigarette, what are we normalizing for them?
A child should carry books.
Toys. Chocolates. Dreams.
Not cigarettes.
Even now, that moment hasn’t left me.
So I want to ask every parent reading this:
Are you sending your child to buy cigarettes for you?
Are you unknowingly teaching them that this is normal?
Today, my son learned about gratitude and respect.
That little girl learned how to carry a cigarette.
Both lessons were taught in the same shop.
And that difference… still hurts.
Let’s protect their innocence, not just from big dangers, but from the small, everyday ones we overlook.
