Monday, June 15, 2015

The smile and the note

It was never an issue for Radhika to wake up early in the morning and go for a walk down the road. She knew her restrictions well and took care of what was required to keep her safe. She has been, always, a follower of her beliefs and ideas that she felt were lucky for her. She would always wear her right sock first and then the left, followed by the shoes in the same manner. She believed that a good walk will make her day begin on a good note.

That morning, Radhika woke up with a bang and got ready for her walk. As she started walking through the lanes, she felt something missing. She didn’t realise that she had missed watching and waving to him today. She stopped for a while and decided to look for him on her way back. He would be there, she thought. But it kept playing on her mind and she took a quick turn towards home, rather early than her usual time.

As Radhika took a turn from the right side of the road, her eyes searched for him. No, he wasn’t there. Had she missed something? Did he go somewhere else? She thought of asking the people around but knew she couldn’t. What would she ask? They hardly know each other for a few days and she had spoken to him only a few times. He would be sitting there and smile at her while she walked past him every morning. Radhika would smile back and wish him Good Morning! But he wasn’t there today. She started walking back home with a disturbed mind, wishing only if she could see him today. Today was a special day for her!

Lying on her bed, she contemplated the idea of going for a walk the next morning. Will he be there today? She didn’t have a good day yesterday and had everything going wrong for her, she thought. She closed her eyes for a moment and decided to give a try. She was ready for her morning walk believing that it is a new day and will be better than yesterday.

As she took the left turn, she could feel his presence. He was indeed waiting there for her with a small piece of paper and a few flowers in hand. She walked up to him, “Where were you? I thought you went somewhere. I hope you are doing well.” With a feeble voice, the 74 year old man said, “I was busy getting the flowers for you, dear! It was a big day for you. How could I forget? But I think I got late and you would’ve left.”

He remembered while no one else did. Her 2 weeks old septuagenarian friend remembered her first day of solo photography exhibition. She took the note that read, “Thank you for making me smile for the first time in years, even if it’s for your award winning photograph. Wish you many more years of success!”


Radhika, with the note and the flowers in hand, after a long time, felt happy walking back home. 

1 comment:




Debjani Baidyaray