Loyalty isn’t Grey. Its black & white!

Sujitha, age 27, mother of two children and works as a server in a restaurant. Like every person, Sujitha has her desires and wish list. At the age of 6, she dreamt of becoming a doctor so she could save people, like her grandmother suffering from illness. At the age of 10, someone told her that if she becomes an officer in the government, she could allocate funds to build better homes for people in her neighborhood so she wished she could become an officer in the government. At the age of 15, all she wished for was to sleep peacefully without the mosquito bites and the yelling between her mother and her drunk father so she could write her public examination well the next day. When she turned 18 and all she yearned for was a college degree so she could uplift the state of her family and pursue her dreams.

And here she was supplying food and asking for orders. The older she grew, the better she got to understand the world and the farther she moved from her wishes. But she always had a wish-list that she had been filling in right from her childhood days. The wish-list that bore dreams like, ‘Become a doctor, help the poor’ was now filled with more eco-centric wishes like, ‘Take her family for dinner to the hotel she is working, save money to take mother for eye-testing’.

It was a regular day job and nowadays she is less worried about helping others and making a difference in the world. She didn’t have time for even herself running from one place to another throughout the day and taking care of the kids at home gave her little less than six hours to sleep and get good rest. She realized causing no harm to your environment and people around you is sometimes the best service you can do to them. She was making her day shine by smiling at the customers, talking loving words to her kids and visiting her favorite god on occasions of special days of the week. That was her happiness in the little sphere of her world.

The evenings in the restaurant are quite busy and it was a normal day at work for her. Little did she know about how small acts of goodness can reap you fortunes. He was an old man probably in his late 60s, he was glowing with gold ornaments on his neck, fingers and on his waist.

“Hey, come here. How long do you expect us to be sitting like this?”, he said in a commanding tone. He seemed to be annoyed.

“But sir, it is quite busy and we are trying our best to not make you wait. I’ll take your order in a couple of minutes”, Sujitha said in a confident tone.

Sujitha always believed she could win over people with her kindness and smile.

The old man was constantly cribbing about the delivery of food, whenever Sujitha passed him, he had a complaint about something. Working the whole day and still moving with tired legs with the little energy that is left in her thin body, Sujitha finds it annoying when people can’t tolerate simple things and treat her as a fault for everything. But again she tries putting her in other’s shoes and treats people the best way she could treat them. Sometimes she just persists and hopes the customer leaves the restaurant soon. The man was finally done having his food and she was delivering the bill with a secret relief within herself.

The old man left her with no tip. Sujitha wasn’t worried about it and she was thinking about her next order. When she suddenly turned away, she saw something glowing on the floor. She bent down to pick it and it was a golden bracelet. She looked around and everyone was busy doing their own stuff. The old man was nowhere to be seen. Not even a moment did she think about holding on to the bracelet. She immediately rushed out of the restaurant in the hope of finding the old man. She looked in the car park area and the old man was getting into his car. She went near his car.

The old man scrolled his window and asked “What?” in an annoyed tone of voice.

“Sir, this was under the table, I guess this must be yours”, Sujitha showed the bracelet to him.

The expression in the old man’s face changed. He looked at her with courteousness for the first time in the whole evening.

He looked at her, “I don’t want to pull a rupee note and demean your act but I must do something for you”, he said.

“Sir, no need. I just did, what is the right thing to do”. For a moment, she thought if she could ask him for a favor but she didn’t. She wanted to earn things she wanted and not get them through favors or courtesy from others.

“You see, you could have taken it, I didn’t even realize that I had been missing it. I wouldn’t have also known where I would have lost it. I didn’t even treat you well in the first place but still, you returned it to me. I must do you a favor”, the old man said humbly.

“No need for anything like that. I’ve been taught not to aim for others’ possessions. What I deserve will always find me. You have a good evening. I have to go back to work”, Sujitha said.

“No. I have to do something. What is your level of education? I can find you a better job in my company, here is my card”, the old man said and put his card out to her.

“I did go to college then I had to stop as my father passed away and I had to take care of my family. I was married then and life took a different route. Thanks for your card. I’ll contact you if needed”, Sujitha said with glee.

The car left and Sujitha turned back to her work. She took a look at the card and slipped it into her pocket. For a moment, the wishlist of hers came to her mind and she stopped by a table asking for the order.

~Hari~