The day had been quite long and Mariam just wanted to
throw herself on the bed and doze off but just like several other days, she had
several emails to go through and many files that needed urgent attention. She
had to pack up to return home too. This travelling for work experience sounded
fascinating and as much as her love for health, she had this urge to maintain her
commitments. She just could not find ways to reduce her hatred for people who
were unprofessional and hence, she could not afford to be one. If someone did
not reply to her emails for 24 hours, it changed the way she perceived them.
She had this unnatural flair to succeed, to do well, and to be a
philanthropist. May be deep down, she wanted to give back to her parents.
It was a foggy day in Cochin when Mariam woke up
realizing that she was already late. She took the cab and reached the airport.
“Madam, your change!” shouted the cab driver.
“It’s okay. You can keep it,” she said.
When she headed towards the entrance, a brief thought
whooshed by. A childhood memory. No, not of her present home but of a small
place in Shimla, where they were not ready to let off a penny without a worthy
reason. She abandoned the thought and continued moving. Not until the security
check, she was relieved seeing the delay due to fog. She decided to go grab a coffee.
“One coffee, please!” She asked a girl.
“I’ve finished my shift for the day. You can wait for
the other person to take your order,” she replied.
It took a moment for Mariam to take in that rude behavior
but she decided to wait. She was perplexed about the unreasonable charges
topped with unruly behavior of the staff. Well, this was not just another day
when you let go off people like that. She bought two coffees and resorted to
find the girl. She wanted an apology and not a friend. Mariam had unusual ways
to deal with people, but most of the times, it worked right. May be, she wanted
to splurge out her frustration on the girl and make her realize her
wrongdoings. She spotted the girl taking off her apron and collecting her
belongings to leave.
“Hey, up for a coffee?”
“Hello. Thanks madam but I see no reason why you
should buy me one, especially when it is at these unaffordable prices”
“Umm, I was wondering if I could buy some of your time
in exchange. You see, my flight is delayed and it is just 5:30 am. The airport
is too empty to find any company. Shall we?”
Mariam could read her face. She seemed confused but
her unruliness was definitely going off guard. With the inherent warmth that
Mariam had, she could almost feel that one kind look was all that was needed to
deal with the rude behavior of people, at times.
Both of them sat down, facing each other. They did not
look quite different. Like any other conversations, this too, started with
knowing about the names and place they belonged too.
Reena, was her name. She wasn’t as tall as Mariam and
mostly had an exhausted face. No, not the one that people have after work. The
one that was several layers deep and Mariam could see that. Each passing
second, she only got more intrigued to know about Reena.
“Thank you for the coffee, madam. Here is my share. I
know you might think that it is something unaffordable for a ground staff and
it also is but I appreciate your gesture. I shall leave now.”
“Reena, I cannot accept this. It was nice to know you.
If you really feel that you owe me something, let us spend some more time
together. Are you in a hurry to reach anywhere?”
“Well, not really. There is no home to go to as such.”
Mariam could feel her need to open up.
“How much time do you have?” Reena asked.
“Around two hours, I guess.”
She took her seat again. This time more comfortably.
Mariam told Reena about her life in Delhi. This was
something that intrigued her and kept her held to the conversation.
“I wish I could have had a chance too. I lived in a
foster home back in Shimla and recently shifted to Delhi for work.” And went on
saying, “The foster home was no ready to support a 19 year old and I got kicked
out. But the last favor that they could do is recommend me for a job, and here
I am.”
She ranted about how tiring her work was and how most
of the times, she spent those lonely nights finding her purpose of life.
Mariam was however appalled. She told Reena that she
had been in the same foster home after her parents death and she was lucky to
be adopted by her current family.
Mariam saw that Reena felt dismayed, cursing her
fortune. Both of them had one thing in common; one haunting question about why
some children were preferred while adoptions and some weren’t.
When Mariam grew up, she always wanted to go back to
Shimla and help the kids in foster home but her work always kept her caught.
She could see the dismay in Reena’s eyes.
“Would you like to come to Delhi with me?”
“What? Are you crazy? You think I would have stayed
here if I had the money to relocate.”
“You can choose to stay with me and work. And I don’t
mind paying for your ticket.”
Reena busted out laughing and said, “No madam. You
have already been very kind. In fact, I feel sorry for the frustration I showed
on the counter. ”
“May be, you can pay back by helping another kid at
foster home or anywhere else.”
This led Reena to think and establish that Mariam was serious
about what she was saying.
“I think it is a good deal. I get the purpose of my
life served while you get a reason to live, isn’t it?”
“You only have a thirty minutes to decide, Reena. I
really want you to come. And I promise you’ll be fine.”
Finally, they both boarded the flight together; after
seven long years, both headed towards the same destination.
