The Right Thing!

The Right Thing!

The small child said to his sister, " so I saw my friend bully and beat up a kid smaller than him. I wanted to stop him but did not".

The little girl said, "why didn't you? You should've done the right thing and helped the smaller kid."

"But then my friend would've not wanted to be my friend anymore and I would've lost him as a friend. He is my only friend", the brother replied.

I told the child that he should've done the right thing. He shouldn't ever think that he's without a friend because God is our best friend and always there for us. I assured him that God would've found him a new friend if he had lost this one by doing the right thing.

The thought that would not leave me was "how many adults do not do the right thing with the same logic?"

The Golden Teapot!

The bell shrieked the second time as I tried to hold my seven month pregnant belly in one hand while supporting the aching back with the other. I felt relief run through me as I shot a quick sneaky glance at my one year old sleeping son. I was afraid the loud shrill of the bell would wake him up. I had no time to spare at the moment and wanted to reach the kitchen before the next desperate cry of that most annoying bell.

The bell had sounded an hour earlier than my expectation and it meant only one thing. Ruby Baby had returned home earlier from her shopping. I had already set the trolley with the bone china tea set and polished silverware. The shining crystal serving dishes were all ready to be filled out with the exotic food that just needed my last final touches. 

It was time for the evening tea and my daily routine but today I was finding it hard to concentrate. My thoughts kept going back to my little brother and aging parents. I was trying to form the words in which I had to deny them the request. The thought had occurred to ask Ruby Baby once more but my past experiences had taught me never to ask her for the same thing after she had announced her opinion. Nothing on earth could ever make her change her mind once she decided on a course of action.

This morning I had gathered all my courage, swallowed my pride and spoken up while handing her twenty thousand rupees that she had asked me to get from her cupboard. She had just returned home from the parlor and did not want to spoil her five thousand rupees manicure. With my heart in my throat I had told her about my dad's request. He had to deposit two thousand five hundred rupees as school fees in order for my nine year old brother to continue his education in the village's only school. My dad had somehow managed to save four hundred rupees and needed the rest. I told him that I had saved two hundred in past two years while working for Ruby Baby as a house keeper. I had assured him that she would surely help me. I had never asked her for anything in the past two years and my tongue stuttered as I had told her my need this morning.

Once again, I tried to focus as I dished out the French pastries for the evening tea but my thoughts kept going back to how her face had looked genuinely sad when she had excused and told me how tight her budget was this month while she took those twenty thousand rupees from my hand that she was going to put in her purse for shopping.

The Vanity!

     I saw her bending over and felt like a crystal glass had just slipped through my fingers and shattered to those million tiny little pieces that can never be pieced back together. I had a déjà vu feeling mixed with a sense of irreplaceable loss. With a sadness  I realized that I was not really surprised at the surprise. 

I looked at the figure bending over in front of me and tried to recall all the reasons for which I had put her up on that pedestal in my thoughts from where she had taken a plunge in this past instant!

     I had met her a few months back and she had won my heart over with all her finesse, manners, and talk of humanity. She had come across as a genuine person with her merry go round nature. She seemed like a compassionate person with her easy ability to laugh and cry at the smallest of things. I admired her artistic taste and friendly nature. Now, looking at her bent back, I felt a stab near my own heart trying not to feel this much hurt. Was I disappointed in her or my own judgement? I pondered! 

     We had gone to visit our mutual friend who had just moved into her just finished grand new house. Our mutual friend was giving us a tour of her mini mansion. My friend started talking about the time she had built her own house and reminiscing the experience. She started emphasizing the importance of quality and brand names. With an air of ostentation, she stated a brand name that she had used in her own house and bend over to check the brand name carved at the bottom of the tap in the bathroom sink of our mutual friend. I wanted to stop her but failed to even make a move. she bent over and my illusion fell, like a crystal glass slipped through my fingers and shattered into those million little tiny pieces that can never be pieced back together.