TRIP TO GRANDPA'S

Written & Illustrated by Darishinni Mathura TRIPGTRAONDPA'S

TRIP TO GRANDPA'S BY Lil' Escape Publishing Copyright © 2021 Darishinni Mathura. All rights reserved. Lil' Escape Publishing lilescapepublishing Illustrations by Darishinni Mathura

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First of all, I want to thank English Writing Club, Universiti Sains Malaysia for giving me the opportunity to create a children's book. Huge thanks to my mentor, Dr Rohaya Abdullah for guiding me throughout the whole process. Without her involvement, self-publishing a book would merely be a dream. I want to thank my family and friends who are my life greatest support. You are the reason I did not give up. Lastly, I want to thank EVERYONE who ever said anything positive to me. I heard it all and it truly meant a lot. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Enjoy reading!

Aryan! Oh, Aryan . . . Pack your bags, we are going to visit your grandparents tomorrow.

“Mummy, I don’t want to go. I am meeting my friends. We planned to watch a movie.” “Come on! Aren’t you excited to meet Baba? You will get to spend time with him.”

Aryan was disappointed as he won’t be able to catch up with his friends. He was upset because there is no one to play with him over there. Aryan’s grandparents are always resting and he will be left alone and bored. No friends. No internet connection. Boring village sight…

“Oh dear Aryan, that is because your grandparents are old now. Come here, I’ll tell you an interesting story that will be etched in your memory forever.” One fine day ....

Baba won a competition. He received a huge amount of money! In excitement, he spent it all on a car.

Baba drove his new red sporty car with a wide smile on his face. It was not just a car. It was a roofless car. Swoosh! Baba loved the feeling of the fresh air on his face while he sang his favourite song. “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine…”.

As he reached his house, Baba was surprised to see grandma at the doorstep. She was not happy. Grandma was very angry because Baba bought a roofless car. Her concern was people could easily steal the car. “Don’t worry dear, nobody will steal my car. Have faith in me,” Baba said convincingly.

Every day, Baba would wash his car to make sure its sparkling clean. Suddenly, one night…. SSPPLALASSHH! !

As Baba was closing the windows, he caught two young man with masks. They were staring at his car. Baba rushed out and shouted “Who are you? Go away! Shu, Shuu… I'll call the police.\" The two men then dashed out in no time.

Baba could not sleep that night. His mind was thinking about the incident. Grandma’s words lingered in his head thinking what if someone steals his precious car. “Aha! I have a brilliant idea. Haha!,” Baba laughed while he executed his idea.

HELP! HELP! The next morning, Grandma started shouting. As she sobbed, “Baba! Baba! I told you this would happen! It’s gone! They took…. it!” Tears rolled down Grandma’s cheeks.

HHAAHHAA!! Baba busted out laughing instantly when he came out. Grandma looked surprised and asked “Why are you laughing? Can’t you see its gone? Someone stole the steering wheel!”

“Aryan, do you know what happened next?” Mummy asked Aryan. “Did Baba hide the steering wheel?” Aryan asked while he laughed.

“Yes, son! Baba hid the steering wheel so that no one could drive his car out. That was smart of him.” Mummy replied.\" This memory pumped Aryan up and he requested his mother for more exciting stories. “I want more, I WANT MORE!,” Aryan said.

“There’s a lot of other funny stories, it will be a lot more fun to hear them from your grandparents’ tomorrow!” replied mummy. In excitement Aryan uttered, “I can’t wait for tomorrow!”

The next morning, they left to the village to hear more exciting and amusing stories from Aryan’s beloved grandparents.

GLOSSARY executed - carry out etched - stick disappointed - sad dashed - rush lingered - stay precious - priceless