– a Talesmith Short by Rajesh Muthuraj
Raghav’s wallet had become a living creature. Not officially, but because of the way it behaved.
Every time he tried to close it, it would spring back open with a dramatic “thwack”, as if shouting, “Please do not stuff anything more, am already full!”
Inside were things no archaeologist could identify:
- A bill from Pizza Hut from the Stone Age
- A bus ticket so old it qualified for senior citizen discount
- An ID Card that did not belong to him
- A tiny screw (nobody knows from where)
- And a mysterious chit that simply said, ‘Sorry.’
His friends stopped asking, “What’s in your wallet?” and started asking, “Bro, what’s not in your wallet?”
One day at a bakery, Raghav opened his wallet to pay. The wallet sighed loudly like an exhausted uncle and spat out twenty random papers on the counter.
The cashier looked at the mess and said,
“Sir, this is not a wallet. This is a lost-and-found department.”
Everyone laughed. Raghav did too, but inside, something clicked.
He sat at a corner table and started emptying the wallet. That took 15 minutes and created a mini mountain.
There were memories he didn’t need, receipts he never saw, and papers that carried more dust than meaning.
As he threw them away, he felt much lighter; not physically, but emotionally.
When he picked up his wallet again, it folded easily. No drama. No thwack.
Just peace.
It was almost whispering, “Thank you.”
We don’t just overstuff wallets; we overstuff our minds.
With old grudges, expired goals, past mistakes, ancient insults, and useless expectations.
And then we wonder why life feels heavy.
We carry:
- Fears that don’t protect us
- Memories that don’t inspire us
- People who don’t support us
- Responsibilities that were never ours
Just like Raghav’s wallet, nothing closes, nothing fits, and every small decision feels like a struggle.
Life becomes lighter the moment you stop carrying things that no longer belong to your journey.
Clean your wallet.
Clean your bag.
Clean your mind.
Because the space you free today becomes the space where better things will breathe tomorrow.
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