Online Shopping
Online Shopping
On a cool fine morning she got a call. The voice on the other side was of a male, a young one as it appeared.. wanting to know the exact address for delivery of merchandise that had been ordered before. Sheila was completely taken by surprise as she had not placed any on line shopping order. She disconnected but the caller was persistent.S he became violent as she started unwinding her not so gentle self and spoke in a very rough and rude way. The boy was very patient and tried his best to convince about the lapse in communication. His profuse apology calmed her mind and his big "sorry" elicited "it is ok". she muttered to herself.."How disgusting these delivery boys are!They tend to sit on your head do not leave till you shout at..poor thing".
Days, weeks, months elapsed and it was festive time, everyone was in a mood to celebrate, for Diwali was round the corner. Sheila was planning for a few more days of leave apart from two holidays granted by her company and so was frantic to finish off allotted huge bunch of work. Paucity of time made her place a few orders for online shopping to be delivered at her home address. She found it cheap and convenient as sale was going on and huge discount was offered on bulk purchases. She was checking her mail updates for delivery everyday and tracking the messages in this regard as she was eager to gift each of her sibling a few things of their choice.The shipment was due in the afternoon and she was all awake and seated in the drawing room ready to receive. She could visualise happiness and ecstasy all combined in the faces of the would be receiver of gifts. The allotted time passed off but the door bell did not ring. Her patience now was about to cross threshold and she started bracing up and down the room, fuming over the delay. Just then she received one message reading..the shipment has been further delayed due to heavy rains. She did not know what to do and where to go for it was already late and shops were closed. With teary eyes and heavy heart she decided to resign to her fate..cursing once again delivery boys who simply disappear at the time of need.
It was awaited Diwali morning, soaked with fun frolic and fervour. The entire family was engaged in rangoli preparation, arranging crackers, diyas, decorating the house with flowers and festoons. Aroma of different cuisines, sweets and sweetmeats filled the space and a sense of oneness, a fulfilled longing sense to be with near ones, relatives and friends ruled the atmosphere. Sheila was all through tense and pensive and could not be at ease to enjoy the feel of the occasion, hoping against hope that the parcel gets delivered to keep up her promise to the near and dear ones.There were a few guests as well to take part in the celebration. Smiles spread across the room could not excite sheila, she was lost to her brooding sense. All eyes were glued to crackers and evening was wished for to catch on with excitement.The Sun was about to set, crimson hue was cast. For Sheila everything remained dark and meaningless as she could not keep her promises. Entirely lost in her thought she was, in spite of surrounded by people.The doorbell rang at that point of time.Her mother answered. A man with a parcel in hand wanted to deliver it to sheila. Her mother called her and she ran down the stairs like a small girl with enthusiasm and happiness oozing from her eyes.Virtually snatching the parcel from the young man she chided him "could you not call me to say the parcel is to be delivered today?You know the shipment is delayed by three complete days and the celebration shall be over in a few hours from now, I shall never ever order anything online henceforth.Thank you anyway." The young man took her signature on the receipt card but did not move. She inquired of him the reason behind his stubborn attitude and got answer like this.."I am Shankar madam. I stay on rent 3/4 lanes away from your house. I know you are employed with a reputed company. A few months back there was a miscommunication due to a typo error and I had called you and bothered you.That was my day of joining and I was confused. I just wanted to atone for my mistake and so brought your parcel home though my allotted hours are over.. as my mother always says...spread happiness ..look for possibility in bits and pieces. When I saw the mobile no on the parcel I could immediately recall the shouting you had poured on me that day and so preferred not to call you, instead brought the things right away .Sorry if I have hurt you. Happy Diwali madam".
Now Sheila was confused and could not utter a single word. Her modest waving of hand spoke instead. By this time her siblings had arrived and almost snatched the packet from her leaving her dazed. As she slowly climbed stairs, her mother could hear her mutterings..."Online shopping is not a bad idea at all."