The Well- Wisher

A little girl sat weeping on the floor of her small house. After all that she had gone through, this was the first time she felt lonely. Little Amara had lost both her parents at a very young age and her elder sister was all she had. Together, they had gone through all the difficulties and have stayed with each other at all times. Despite being very poor, they still managed to keep each other happy. Amara's sister never made her feel the absence of her parents. But now, the dreadful corona virus had taken her sister too. How was she to live now, with no one by her side?

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Amara didn't bother to answer it at first. But when she heard the knock again, she got up, wiped her eyes, and opened the door. In front of her stood a man. He was not too tall, not too short. Not too fat, not too thin. He had a kind smile on his face. Looking at the small girl, his smile widened.

"Hello. I am a traveler. I missed my bus. so a man told me that I will find another transport nearby. But I believe I'm lost. I've been wandering for hours and very tired and hungry. I Hope you can offer me something to eat please?" The man said.

Amara's sister had always taught her to help people, no matter what the condition. So, Amara let that man inside and offered every little thing she had to eat. The man saw this, and asked "Little miss, if you're going to give everything to me. Then what are you going to eat?"

"I'm not hungry" Amara said in a dull way. The man knew something was troubling the little girl, so he asked her what was wrong. Now, Amara was just a little girl, and, all she wanted to do right now was to share her pain with someone. So, when the man asked her, she burst out crying and told the man everything. The man understood her pain and went over and hugged her. The man was a total stranger to Amara, but the hug still felt comforting. They stayed like that for a little while, when Amara said "How am I going to live now? My sister was the one who worked for money and brought food on our plates. I don't know how to do that"

"It's okay.... You have me. I'll give you some money till you have gotten a job and are stable enough. I think I'll stay here a few more days to take care of you till you feel better. If that's fine with you" The man said. "Of course. That will be lovely" Amara replied.

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A few days passed.... To divert her mind, the man bought some books and started homeschooling Amara. She was a smart girl, just lacking recourses. She still cried for her sister sometimes, but the man told her that it was totally normal, and that time will heal this wound as well. Meanwhile, the money in the man's wallet was running out. And soon they would be left with nothing. So, he started to find a job for Amara.

One day, he told Amara during breakfast "I have found a job for you Amara, now you can make money yourself, just like your sister did, you will start from tomorrow" Little Amara was happy, "Oh! That's wonderful! Now I can earn money myself!" But she hadn't noticed the sadness in the man's voice. He knew what he was going to do next, was going to hurt her deeply, but he had no other choice. 

"Good night Amara" The man said

"Good night!" Amara said. And with this, both of them drifted off to sleep.

Next morning, When Amara woke up, she saw that the man was not in the bed, or the house. Even his stuff wasn't visible anywhere. She ran out of the house, incase he was walking around, but found him nowhere. She asked another man. "He left early in the morning. Took the 6 o' clock bus" The man replied. Amara was filled with emotions. Sad, because now, again, she had no one. And angry, because he had not told her that he was leaving. She rushed to her house and started weeping.

That's when she saw a note on his bed, somehow she had missed it before. Now, Amara had learnt how to read, so she read the note aloud :-

Dear Amara

I know you must be angry with me. But I just couldn't tell you about my plans. Otherwise, you would never let me leave. And let me tell you, that this was a very hard decision for me too. But, as I told you, I am a traveler. And a traveler doesn't stay at one place for long. I have arranged a tuition teacher for you in the village, she has agreed to teach for free, and will come to your house everyday at 5pm. Please, promise me, that you will never ever stop studying, and grow up to be a very big and wise woman. Then you could also help other children like yourself. Or make a big discovery in astrology.... 

Please, forgive me for leaving you like this, but there are many other children who need my help too. And remember? you asked me my name one day, and I replied that I don't have a name. Well, I just gave myself a name. Consider me as a Well-Wisher.