Being Human

Short Story with Moral – Being Human

Being Human – Short Story with Moral

Alisha, a typical Mumbaite shifts to flat no. 403 in a luxurious complex in Gurgaon. As she stepped inside the colony, she was overwhelmed by the ambience, the architecture of the building and the sight of so many children playing around. The calming sound of running water from the garden accessories on display was more than welcoming. It was impossible not to notice beautifully blossomed Gulmohar trees in the midst of the centre lawn . Six towers structured in a highly aesthetic sense. Along side the entrance of every tower were flower beds in vibrant colours.You have to just walk in, it was almost hypnotic. It was a big colony with a fantastic ambience.

It was a dream come true for Alisha. Her children just loved the colony. Being a home maker, Alisha was totally occupied in keeping everything in order. Now  she was almost settled in her dream-like home. That day, after her children left for the school and her husband waved her good-bye, she poured some steaming hot tea in a big mug, picked up the newspaper and leaned over her comfy chair of her living room. All of a sudden, she heard something. She heard a thumping sound, was it an earthquake? No…. the Sound was coming from the upper floor…

The person living in flat no. 503, which was just above her flat, was a weird one. He didn’t have any family. It was a rumour that he doesn’t come out of his home ever. He was a retired man in his late fifties. He was doing some renovation work at his place by himself that is what Alisha assumed, as a lot of thuds would keep coming from the roof of her flat.

Once she politely asked the person to lower down the noise as it was very disturbing……. However, after that incident, the person purposely started banging the floor with an instrument which would make a loud sound & that too when Alisha was conversing with her mother or with her friends over the phone. She got annoyed…She immediately called up the representative of the building to let him know the problem. Representative reciprocated fast enough and when he stepped inside, that person stopped thudding until that the rep. left her home.

Initially, her husband was quite frivolous about the whole issue, later he realized that something queer was going on. Despite all attempts on Alisha’s behalf to solve the problem, nothing happened. She even tried to fabricate some story to the president of the society but there was no proof, so she was taken aback. She made some amusing plans to make that person understand his fault. Some plans also worked but only for a short period of time, and she was not satisfied. Now she could bear it no longer and she got more and more determined to beat him by hook or by crook….

The sun was shining when Alisha woke up on Saturday. She was quite charged up for the day as it was her 10th marriage anniversary. She planned everything in advance. She along with her husband and children went to nearby hill station. When they came back after the weekend break, she was quite reluctant about the issue which used to exasperate her.But in due course of time again she was agonised.

Then one fine day everything changed…… While she was cleaning her children’s book shelf, suddenly all the books fell down and the room got illuminated with bright golden light…. A Goddess appeared before her. Alisha was mesmerized by her grandeur and just kept staring at her. The goddess smiled at her and asked

“Alisha, while going out for some work, if a pig starts grunting, will you stop doing your work, or will you finish it? ”

and Alisha woke up with a jerk as she had dozed off while cleaning up her children’s book shelf. She smiled and thought about the poor man of flat no.503.

“A living being who has nothing else to do except wasting his time, but I am totally opposite of him”thought Alisha.

Even now that person was trying to irritate her making loud thuds……But pigs are supposed to grunt and being human we are supposed to live our life in a useful manner, isn’t it?

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