365 DAYS 365 TALES

Save it for the Rainy Day

Londoners rarely ventured out without two things - their Oyster Card and an umbrella. Wondering why? It was because of the 24*7 hours rainy weather.

I was rushing down the streets towards my home, musing to myself, "All right, Wilfred, almost there. A treat of hot coffee and your very own luxurious fireplace awaits for you." as the pitter-patter of the rain drops drummed the hollow of my ears with so much intensity.

I did my best to save myself from the harsh down pour, under the shade of my over brimming umbrella. But before I could take a turn towards the road leading me through the Al Street, I was piqued by the scene in the sideways of the alley.

I found two boys of twelve or maybe thirteen, humming an old tune to themselves while scavenging through the rag piles. Sensing my presence, they stopped and looked at me.
One gaze was enough to assess their deprived condition - tousled hair, loose khaki pants, worn out shirts over their skinny frame, disheveled state of appearance and water dripping through their clothes. But there was something in their eyes... those dark earnest eyes strangely attracted my attention.

When I didn't say anything, they resumed with their work. I wanted to speak to them but then my rational mind took me away from the corner of that street, towards the cozy inside of my home. There I felt myself unconsciously humming the same tune.

Next morning, walking by the public square, I spotted them again, doing a brisk business of boot polish. I watched for a few moments and as the customers reduced, I went over. Their faces scrunched with familiarity.

"I thought you picked up rags for living," I stated.

"We do many things, Sir," was the curt reply of the first boy.

"Can we polish your boots, Sir," chimed the other one.

"Um... yes, if you would do it properly." Though I was not at all interested in having shoe polished, I fanfared my shoe on the stool, just for the sake of conversation.

Their faces brightened and soon, we fell into a talk and I got to know that they were brothers and had been living in the vicinity all their lives. The elder one, a steady and engaging boy was Owen and the lively squirrel was Frid. My interest in them was provoked by their remarkable demeanor. I could feel there was seriousness lurking in their boyish faces, beyond their age.

What struck me the most was their willingness to work and often a times, I would like to pass them money but they would respectfully deny it, to which I later stopped persisting.

One evening, I saw them huddling newspaper piles around the busy market streets.

"Hey, Owen and Frid... come over here," I called to them.

They settled beside me, on the bench.

"You really should not work so hard. You both look really tired." My heart went for them. They seemed to have suffered horribly from starvation and exposure to extreme conditions of life.

"We are not complaining, Sir," replied Owen.

"And we get to do various stuff like boot polish, selling grocery, hawking newspaper, conducting tourist rounds and run errands. Owen says we should always respect every job and give it our best shot," Frid remarked with pride.

"Um...okay," taking a pause I continued," Well, you know you are quiet perceptive."

To this Frid shrugged.

"Hey, you know... I mean who does thinks about all these stuff...in today's world where we cannot waste time on mushy gushy talks. You see, if a person will try to be so humane how is he going to survive this cosmopolitan world," their devotion had touched me deeply and I thought Why I cannot voice my insecurities like that?

"Well, Sir, Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love. We need to restore faith in humanity," Frid proposed.

"Yeah, I have a philosophy for this," Owen suggested.

"You do?" I questioned.

"Yes, of course. The thing is our knowledge has made us cynical, our cleverness hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery we need humanity, more than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost," and added, "We shall now take your leave, Sir."

"I guess you are right," I said muddled within the gravity of life's situation. I could scarcely believe my ears which had heard so deep sense for the need of humanity.

I was really uncomfortable with the revelations. Who does likes to be confronted? It is harsh. I shook my head and turned away. I felt like, I did not had it in me, to face the world the way they could. I sighed and stood up to walk the way back to my home.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

Hello wonderful readers,

I cannot thank you enough for your time to the story. You are fantastic people.

Isn't it amusing my readers that we find the comforts of life in the stories of Wattpad. And true that even if not a heart to heart but just a casual talk with children gives you an entirely different perspective to life.

So the next time you sit with your Wattpad enjoying this story on a rainy day, you will think about it. Won't you?

P.S. Do watch the video of that delightful old tune referred in the story above ☺
The song is - Master song by Leonard Cohen.

Riya60 (20/04)