DEAR VENERABLE PRIEST

One particular morning, the priest got up with a nightmare. His dream during the early morning revealed that his secret would be exposed by the temple’s deity. The priest started to panic because his mother always said early morning dreams come true. What was this secret that the priest was scared of? The priest would chew gum when there were no devotees in the temple. It always kept him distracted from his worrisome thoughts. He also noticed his double chin was vanishing and he was getting a chiseled jaw line. So, he chewed gum whenever nobody was around. But this was against tradition according to NOONE.

He remembered his friend Ravi who was made to stand outside the classroom an entire day with his hands stretched upwards because he was caught chewing gum during class. Ravi had stopped chewing gum henceforth and turned out to be a “Good” student or so everyone thought.

The priest searched the scriptures. He couldn’t find answers. He tried talking to the deity he served in the temple. It didn’t occur to him- the advice, the guidance, the realization.

So, he decided to punish himself.

He decided to stand outside the temple with his hands stretched up for an entire night.

The next day in his dream the deity arrived and with a booming voice asked: “Why are you making such a fuss out of this? Dear Venerable priest, I will not reveal your “secret” to anyone. I will Keep mum, You Stay calm and Chew gum”

The priest thought it was his idea of punishment that had given him answers but the deity knew it was okay to chew gum.