Moral Short Story – Passport
Photo credit: arvydas from morguefile.com
I remember the day I got tensed the most in my life it was the day on which I had to leave the city to another for a business purpose. Those days I had a lot of jobs to be done. I was dropped at the airport by a subordinate at 8:00 pm and I had to report at the airport at 8:15 pm and I reached there before 15 minutes of the reporting time. I boarded the air plane after the procedures before departure and I also went to the toilet to get freshen up. The journey in the plane was of 1 hour.
I used to sleep in the airplanes but that day I did not try to sleep and one reason for that was it was only 1 hour journey. I got a glass of apple juice and a small snacks kit and the time passed quickly and the real thing was there was no time enough to pass. Seated next to me was an elderly man who is visiting his son after 5 years. He told that his son and his family had left him there at their home and only person who gave him company was a nephew of this person and his nephew had come to his house for college studies. And after his nephew’s studies completed he went back to his home and the old man became alone there. So his son arranged everything for the elderly man to go and stay with his son. This guy told the whole story and about 45 minutes passed.
Soon the plane arrived at the city where I had to go. I got out and went to complete the final procedures of the travel. And when they asked me to show my passport and ticket, I put my hands in my handbag to get my passport and ticket. Slowly my heartbeat increased because my passport is missing but I got my ticket. I wondered where it went and rechecked my handbag. Still there was no use. I thought in my mind there is no need for panicking and I started thinking of the places where I have been during the travel and the places which have the probability for me to keep it there.
I went to the tea café and investigated whether my passport was there or not, but I could not find it there. Then I went to the shopping area and asked one of the staff if they had found my passport there or not. The staff had not seen any passport but he went and investigated about this to his colleagues. Then after five or six minutes he came back and told that one of the staff had found a passport. I went with that man to check whether the passport the other staff found was mine or not.
Was it mine? Did I get it back? These were the questions that were through my mind but alas, it was not mine. Suddenly I noticed that it belonged to the person who was sitting with me. Then the first that got into my mind was that – was the man’s passport interchanged with mine? Then I thought of starting the look for the person. I saw him in the shopping area but it was the time that the staff that I had earlier asked for help interrupted. He told that one of his friend who is a police working there had found a passport and he took me to that person. This person was rough by body but was soft by manners. He gave me the passport he had found but it was not mine.
Suddenly I ran to find the other old man who had travelled with me. I saw him enter the toilet and I waited for him to come out. Then after sometimes he came with a towel in his hand wiping the water on his face. When this guy saw me he said “Oh! You again”
I asked him whether he had got my passport or not. First time in my life I was rude in speaking to an elderly man, but he replied politely that he did not get my passport. Suddenly I calmed down and put my hands in my pocket to take his passport. He said me thanks and he just turned the pages of the passport, just to see if there is any damage. It was then that he found the passport I gave him was mine. He gave it back to me and I got surprised of it. I searched for this small thing all over in the airport when in was in pocket. The old man made a sound and I knew what he meant by that. He wanted me to give his passport.
I put my hands in my handbag and took the passport of the other man and gave it him. He told that it was nice to meet me again and I replied that it was the passports which made us meet again. Then he went for his way and started moving to the exit. I was not satisfied with my own move of searching all over than first checking my pockets. Then I just reminded me that all that happened was for good. I thought what the good in it was; there was only one thing that I had got tensed for an hour or two. Suddenly I remembered, these all happened because god decided that I will be the person who will be returning the passport of the elderly man and the funny thing it was that even that man had not recognized that his passport was missing until I told him that I had got his passport.
I don’t know why I am thinking all these late night and I have lots of work to do tomorrow at the office. Oh! Is it tomorrow or today? Oh! The time is 12:30am and sleep derived now.
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