Social Issue Short Story – INNOCENT OLD EYES!
Photo credit: presto44 from morguefile.com
It was a very hectic day at office. Since I work in the construction field, I had to take clients for a site visit. One can imagine, construction site visits in the month of May. I had some irritating guests to entertain. I am finally paid for it so did it willingly.
It was that part of the day where birds flew down to their nests and people usually returned to their homes. I usually preferred walking down till the bus stand. Back of my mind I was thinking of the beautiful birthday party waiting for me at home. It was my bestie’s birthday! And I just couldn’t think of giving it a miss. I bought a cute pair of earrings for her. I was thinking of the smile she would have on her face because I knew these were the earrings had she liked the most while we were window shopping! I was in my own world to be precise.
While walking on the foot bridge of Rua de Oruem in Panjim, I got a strange feeling that someone is watching me. I quickly regained my composure. I saw a middle aged couple looking at me. A few steps after walking towards the bus stand, they approach me.
They say “Deedi, please help us. We are in a problem. Our son is working as a labor at a construction site in the neighboring village. Since he didn’t write to us for a very long time, we came to look out for him. We learnt that their company has gone back to Maharastra for another construction project and we are left with no money. We want to go back to our native place in Sangli. Please help us.”
I saw their innocent eyes. I felt pity at them. I have seen laborer’s salaries. I know how difficult it is to make two ends meet for this class of people. I thought for a minute and gave them Rs.500/- note thinking it might be of some help to them. They gave me blessing. I told them that it was my bestie’s birthday and please bless her with their blessings. I felt relaxed and walked away from there calmly with a pleasant smile on my face.
When I narrated the incident to my mom, my mom made a big fuss like any other Indian mom saying “You have been cheated! There are these beggars who tell their sad stories to fools like you! They have big gangs! Blah blah blah…” I chose to ignore it and headed towards the birthday party.
AFTER 4 MONTHS
Today I am engaged to the man I love since last 3 years. I am talking to him while walking the same streets of foot bridge. What I see is a shock to me! My mom was right! They were there again talking to somebody else. Another lady was going to get trapped like me. I chose to educate the lady about the history.
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