Meera sat on the floor of her room, surrounded by a jungle of schoolbooks. The math test was the next day, and her brain felt like aloo paratha—squished and stuffed. “Uff, yeh fractions samajh hi nahi aate!” she groaned, tugging at her braid.

Her younger brother, Aryan, peeked in, munching a samosa. “Didi, if you fail, mummy will ban your weekend outing, haan!” he teased.

“Shut up, Aryan!” she threw a pillow at him, but he dodged it like a pro.

Frustrated, Meera decided to take a break. She climbed up to the attic, her secret hideout, to clear her head. The attic was old and dusty, filled with random boxes of forgotten treasures.

As she rummaged through a box labeled "Dadaji's Things," her hand brushed against something cold and metallic. Pulling it out, she found a calculator—an old one, with colorful buttons and strange markings. It looked nothing like the boring calculators she used in school.

“Wah, kya vintage piece hai!” Meera murmured, wiping it clean.

Suddenly, the screen lit up, even though she hadn’t pressed any buttons. “Hello, Meera! Ready to solve some magic math?”

Meera jumped back. “Yeh kya tha?! Aryan, stop messing around!”

But Aryan was nowhere nearby. The calculator glowed softly, its screen displaying, “Don’t be scared. I’m here to make math fun!”

Curiosity replaced her fear. “Fun? Math? Are you joking?”

The calculator beeped. “Try me. Give me a problem.”

“Fine,” Meera said skeptically. “What’s 3/4 + 1/2?” She always messed up these kinds of sums.

The screen flickered, and then numbers floated out of the calculator—actual glowing numbers! They danced around her, forming little groups.

“Dekho, Meera!” the calculator chimed. “Three-fourths is three pieces out of four. Half is two pieces out of four. Add them, and you get five pieces out of four. That’s 1 and 1/4!”

Meera’s jaw dropped. “Whoa! This is amazing!”

She ran downstairs to show her best friends, Riya and Kabir, who were playing in her living room. “Tum log ko yeh dekhna padega!” she exclaimed.

In her room, the trio stared at the glowing calculator.

“Are you sure this isn’t some prank, Meera?” Kabir asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Just watch,” Meera replied, typing in, “How do you divide a pizza among 5 people equally?”

The calculator whirred, and an image of a pizza appeared in the air. It sliced itself into 5 pieces, each glowing. The kids gasped.

“Yeh toh kamaal hai!” Riya said, clapping her hands.

They spent the next hour solving problems. Each time, the calculator explained concepts with glowing images, dancing numbers, and funny examples. Kabir, who hated math, was actually laughing while learning percentages.

But suddenly, the calculator beeped loudly. “Error! Low battery. Find my key to recharge!”

“What key?” Meera asked, puzzled.

The screen displayed a riddle:
"Where books are stacked and secrets lie,
A golden key is what you must spy."

“Library!” Riya shouted.

The three of them raced to the school library, where the old librarian, Mrs. Deshmukh, was arranging books.

“Bachho, why are you running?” she asked, frowning over her glasses.

“Uh...project work, ma’am!” Kabir blurted out.

In a corner of the library, they searched high and low, moving bookshelves and checking drawers. Finally, under a dusty encyclopedia, Meera found a small golden key with the same symbols as the calculator.

“Mil gaya!” she yelled triumphantly.

Back home, Meera inserted the key into a hidden slot on the calculator. It glowed brighter than ever and announced, “Recharge complete. Let’s solve more magic math!”

Over the next few days, the kids used the calculator not just to ace their math homework but also to help classmates. They explained concepts in simple ways, just like the calculator had shown them. Soon, math became less of a scary monster and more of a fun puzzle for everyone in their class.

But one day, the calculator spoke again. “Meera, my time here is over. You’ve learned how to see the magic in math. It’s time for me to help someone else.”

Meera felt a pang of sadness but nodded. “Okay, dost. Thank you for everything.”

The calculator’s glow dimmed and then disappeared, leaving behind a simple note on its screen:
"Math is everywhere, in everything. Look closely, and you’ll always find magic."

The next day, Meera stood at the blackboard, solving a tricky problem for her classmates. She used the same tricks the calculator had taught her, making everyone laugh and learn at the same time.

As the bell rang, Kabir whispered, “Meera, you don’t need the calculator anymore. You’ve become the magic!”

Meera smiled. For the first time, math didn’t seem so scary. It felt like a fun adventure—one she was excited to share.

Moral of the Story:
When you approach challenges with curiosity and a little creativity, they stop being scary and start being fun. Magic lies in learning—and in helping others learn too!