Special Strangers

It is always a pleasure to take a trip down memory lane especially if the road is paved with beautiful rememberences.
Two such memories instantly come to my mind. I was appearing for my class X exams. I used to cycle to school & the school bus would take us to our center at IIT- Kanpur. One such day, as I was going to school, two boys in a moped came ,& I think, hit my cycle deliberately. The front wheel of the cycle was badly twisted, leaving me with no option other than leaving it with a shopkeeper nearby, who offered to retain it for me till I returned from my exam. After I gave my exam, when I went to the shop , I saw that my cycle wasn’t there & neither was the shopkeeper .All kinds of doubts & suspicions crossed my mind. At home, I related the entire episode to my mother & she was only relieved that I wasn’t hurt .In the evening, my dad & I went to the shop. And, guess what? !!!! There was my cycle, looking in great shape-who would have thought that in the morning it had met with such a fate. We thanked him & I was embarrassed to have been suspecting his intentions , when all he did was that he had repaired it for me! There was still some kindness left in the world.
This isn’t all. I was the lucky recipient of one more act of kindness a few years later when I went to Nagpur to do my graduation. I had to reside in a hostel & it was the first time alone without parents. As a result, I wasn’t in the habit of carrying a wallet. So, on my first day to college, as I boarded the bus, I realized I didn’t have any money to pay for my ticket. The conductor listened as I explained why I wasn’t carrying it. I promised that I would pay him next day as I would be traveling at the same time. He nodded & went away only to return a minute later. He said ,’As you are not carrying a wallet, you wont be able to pay for your fare when you return. So, here is the fare for the return ticket’. And, he handed me Rs 2! I could only look at him & wonder from where he got his good sense, judgement & kindness.
I could not return them the kindness that they bestowed upon me but I do try to be a little considerate to people I meet without expecting the same in return. It is better to pay it forward & let not the chain break…