A Helping Hand

As I opened my eyes, I realized I was already late for office. I jumped out of my bed and quickly started getting ready. “traffic is going to create havoc”, I feared and sped up. And my fear finally manifested in the form of a traffic jam. While waiting for the traffic to go smooth, I saw an old man pushing a cart with his bare hands. The weather being rainy, the roads were adorned with many large holes filled with water and thus it was difficult to gauge the depth of those holes. Suddenly, the front two wheels of the cart went inside a hole. The old man, however hard he tried, could not pull the cart back from the hole. People all around looked at him, enjoying the view of an old man utilizing his entire strength but failing. Some even laughed. Some murmured. Basically, everyone around was too busy in rushing that no one cared. When the old man looked around, he had hope in his eyes. He wanted someone to lend a helping hand. It was then that I saw an amazing incidence. A kid, aged around 12 years stepped out from a car, ran towards the old man and held the cart with both his hands.

Now both of them were trying their best to pull the adamant cart. I was fascinated as well as broken. Now I realized why children are called close to the divine. They are selfless, away from the usual “societal and behavioral barriers”. I thought, what was stopping me to do the same job the kid was doing? Was I worried that my clothes would get dirty? Was I too busy in my own affairs that I did not want to take this extra responsibility? Or did I consider myself unfit for lending a helping hand? No reason was sufficient enough to burn away the feeling of embarrassment I felt at that moment. That was it. I stepped down from my motorcycle, rushed towards the old man and helped him in pulling the cart. There was a jerk and I literally stepped down in the hole, trying to balance myself on my hands. Finally, we succeeded. I saw my hands were full of wet mud and my pant had acquired a brownish hue. I was just starting to think about being the reason for laughter among my colleagues today when suddenly the old man came in front, joined both his hands and bowed down to touch my feet. Tears rolled down my eyes, seeing his love and charisma. I grabbed his shoulders and bowed down. His smile was serene. His eyes sparkled. This was more precious than the rarest of the gems in the world. The yanking of horns deviated me and thank god it did deviate me otherwise I would have cried bitterly. I rushed to my office, with a feeling of satisfaction never felt before. Small deeds like these make us human, and that too, a kind one.