I got a rose and a lesson for life!

The day came to an end finally! It was significant yet a gloomy day. Quite inexplicable, it was my last day at Times of India which was indeed my second home. I had an assignment that day, I filed it, mailed it to my boss and was all set to wind up. It was 7pm when I left my office. Oh wait, I should reconsider my statement, it is not ‘my office’ anymore.

Like everybody, I was feeling overwhelmed when the time arrived to say good bye to all my colleagues. It was hard! I had planned to come face to face with everybody and express my gratitude. But I did not as I knew I was too bad at such things. Went to canteen, sipped some tea and started writing mails to all my colleagues making them realise that it was my last day. What happened after that emboldened me.

What you give to world will get back to you!

‘We will miss you’, ‘I will miss you’ are the most stimulating sentences one can ever hear. And if these are fetched from an unexpected person, then that will triple your bliss. But those were not what I received! I received the most glamorous statements which enkindled me.

“Do not think too much like you always do. Keep it simple and enjoy your independence”, said one of them.

“Hey, I did not realise that it is your last day today”, said another colleague.

“Whom should I now ask for Kannada translation?”, said one of them.

“Whom will I borrow earphones from?”, asked another one.

“Heh, I miss our walks and talks. All those secrets we had righteously kept”, said another.

“You are sincere at your work but you got to have a lot more to learn. Be zealous in your approach and get aggressive. I am neither trying to give you gyaan nor make you feel you were too good. But soon you will realise that these qualities are important”, said one of my colleagues.

Another person took me on an ice-cream date and bid a chilled farewell to me.

These statements were not serving any formalities but came from within what they actually tried to mean. Those were so original. I felt loved at once!

Ok, if this was one part of my story, now listen to another part of it…..

I was left alone by 8pm. I was scrolling through my mails and was seated in a bus stop waiting for a never arriving bus. All of a sudden, a boy (aged between6-8) with ten beautiful roses stood right in front of me. He wore knickers and a torn T-shirt. I could not observe the colour as it was already an hour of darkness. He importuned me to buy one of his roses. It was twenty bucks. I could not resist from buying it because it was a kid who was selling it, at the same time, I did not want to give him money which is a mere encouragement to continuation of what he was doing!

(I always had this curiosity in mind about where do these kids get flowers, pens or whatever they sell, from? After selling them, whom does this money go to? What will these kids get by the end of the day? Are these kids persuaded to sell them or threatened? What is the story behind those beautiful flowers?)

In fact, I thought that I shall inquire the kid about this. But he seemed too meek to answer me. I did not want to scare the kid by bombarding questions at him. He repeatedly pleaded me to buy them without even giving me a chance to open my mouth.

I did not want to disappoint him. I gave him just ten bucks as I had no change for hundred and said I did not want his rose.

“Please give me ten more bucks sister”, he said.

I rummaged in my bag and did not find another ten rupees note for him. I had a note of hundred bucks but the kid did not seem like having enough cash to give me back my change.

“Okay take this ten bucks, it is ok, you need not give me the rose”, I said.

“No, Please give me ten more bucks”, he asked.

I asked a person who was seated next to me if he had any change for hundred but he said no. I did not know what to do.

After two to three seconds of the gap….

“Here, take this flower”, he said.

“But I do not have ten more bucks dear”, I said.

“It is ok, you can still take this flower”, he added.

“No”, I said.

“Take it, never mind”, he said.

I was perplexed and pleased by him.

He sacrificed his ten bucks for me. I do not know what ten rupees means to any of us. But I am certain that it meant a day’s livelihood for him. When a shitty person like me thought ten times to hand over hundred bucks to him, a little bounty heart felt like gifting me a rose.

I cannot explain what I felt at the moment. I learnt life in a very moment from just that six to eight year old kid.

I can never forget the happiness that blossomed on his face after receiving ten bucks. If those ten rupees was a blessing to him, his happiness was a boon to me.

I felt loved again!

As seen by you.

I got a rose, love and a lesson for life.