Two Good Deeds

It’s not a good week when you hit your car on a pillar in the parking lot. It gets worse when you see the total amount you need to pay to get the repairs done. Just when you’re thinking, this is it, can’t get worse than this, you stumble on the street and your sandals just fall apart. And you make a dash for the nearest shoe shop, barefoot, and drop your phone on the street.

No, that’s not my idea of good.

But it could have been worse—that’s what everyone tells me.

Two young boys, teenagers, saw me drop my phone and run (I was barefoot!). They chased me on the street and returned it. I was dumbfounded.  

I went into the Bata store, with dirty feet, and no one thought it was weird that a girl was running inside without any shoes—may be it happens often. The salesman helped me pick a few pairs, but I confessed that my feet were dirty. He smiled politely and told me it was okay; I could try them on.

I bought two pairs in less than 10 minutes.

A lot of times, I don’t remember such gestures; it is easier to focus on what’s not, than what is. If anything, I wouldn’t have been surprised had the salesman turned me away, or had my phone been lost. It’s what I honestly expect from people. That realisation came with a bit of shame. So cynical, painting everyone with the same black colour. What a waste of a brain to judge people so harshly.

As inconsequential as this may seem after a day or two, I needed these two good deeds to remind me, it’s not all that bad.