Thieves of Time by Abdumominov Abdulloh

My name is Doniyor. My neighbor Abdullah and I have become close friends. One day we couldn’t find any way to have fun. We had no goal. We didn’t know what to do. When we were making something from a piece of wood, my father suddenly woke up. His eyes were half open when he said:

“Hey, thieves of time! Are you wasting your time?”

I didn’t understand the meaning of my father’s “time thieves” at all. I wanted to ask, but he fell asleep.

My friend Abdullah also asked, “Are we thieves?”

When daylight came, he went into his house. I also fell asleep from exhaustion. But I remembered that I was late for school, so I quickly washed my face and drank tea in a hurry. I do not remember what I ate. I thought I would be late for school, but class had not yet begun. As soon as I arrived, the teacher came in. We all greeted the teacher with respect.

“My dear students! I am overjoyed to see you. My joy is boundless.”

Just as our teacher was explaining the subject to us, one of my classmates came in and said, “Teacher, I’m sorry I’m late today.”

“Doniyor, don’t be late anymore,” the teacher said. “This time I forgive you, but next time I will punish you.”

“Dear students,” the teacher said, “you must build a new Uzbekistan, and at the same time justify the trust of your parents, ready to give their lives for you. If you become famous, I will be proud to say on the street that I taught this student,” she said.

These words of my teacher had a special effect on me and increased my self-confidence. Various whispers began in the classroom.

“Will you come to my birthday tomorrow?” I heard also those words. It was clear that our teacher also heard these words.

“Time thieves,” said the teacher. Her sharp gaze at the students was marked by regret. “Thieves of time.”

I had heard these words from my father while I was playing with my friend. That’s why I was not surprised to hear them. My classmates were stunned.

Doniyor trembled with fear as if I, his friend Abdullah, had committed a crime.

“Doniyor, why are you trembling?” the teacher asked.

“You called us thieves, didn’t you? After all, aren’t those who steal punished?”

“Time thieves are punished by time itself. By doing so, you are hurting yourself,” the teacher said.

“Teacher, I do not understand the meaning of this sentence at all. Please tell us about the theft of time.”

“Usually, those who steal are punished,” said the teacher. “Time thieves are no exception. True, the thief of time is not punished. He is not even accountable before the law. But wasting your time now is tantamount to stealing your time, your future. If you spend all your time in science, you will save time and become a mature person in the future.”

“Ohh, my friend Abdullah and I are the thieves of our future,” Doniyor thought. These words of the teacher inspired Doniyor, and at that moment he realized what a “time thief” was.

He even came to our house in a hurry: “Anvar, are you there? Starting today, I can say that I understand the value of time.

“Yes, Abdullah, you understand, now we are not stealing our time, we are just following the path of knowledge. In the future, we will be among the mature people mentioned by my teacher. I agree with you. Don’t waste your time! I will always remember that it is a trophy!”

Pupil of school No. 102, Shayhantahur district, Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Age: 13