She picked up a gorgeous red dress in the store…stuck it against her bosom n took a moment off to admire herself in the mirror…millions of dreams came floating before her eyes….dreamy-eyed,she looked quite a sight…but the very next moment she shrugged herself out of the dreamland..with an aching heart she put the dress back ..adjusted her I Card and got back to work….attending to the clients visiting the boutique store in a posh mall of the city.The price tag of the dress kept haunting the tiny dreams of this young sales girl…
In the men section of the same store, a man in his 50s was checking out the neckties…a whiff of richness surrounded him…
His salt n pepper hair was the testimony of the number of summers he had seen…the fine lines on his face were the alibi of his experience of life…his crisp steel grey suit was complimenting his frame…
He picked up quite a few things without bothering to check the price tags….then slowly he made his way to the ladies section……
Perhaps his choice was also the same as that sales girl…he went straight into that section, picked up the very same red dress..n casually threw it in his shopping bag…..
She was looking at him from the corner of her eye….a pain surged through her heart….she didn’t know what was it about…whether she was sad that her red dress had gone or was upset that God had been so unkind…He has created such a stark disparity in the society…
A small piece of paper-a price tag held no importance to that man…while it shattered her innocent dreams…
He went to the counter…tossed his credit card and made the payments…
The lady at the counter thanked him with a warm smile…as she knew he was the regular and valued customer of their boutique store…who would lavishly spend to his heart’s content…..
She couldn’t help gazing at him…
“Is he flirting with the cashier…..it sure looks like that….he is scribbling something on the paper…..perhaps giving his phone number….these rich men think they can buy anything…” she kept fuming as she saw him mischievously smiling and slipping that small slip stealthily towards the lady at the counter…..
The cashier was continuously smiling….n seemed very happy…
She kept looking at him until he went out of sight n got lost in the crowd …
It was time for her shift to get over….as the clock struck 8..she took a sigh of relief….she just didn’t feel like working anymore…..
She headed towards the counter where they have to sign before they leave…..
Cashier asked her to wait……..
She pulled out the carry bag…n gave it to her…
She was perplexed….”what is this….?”
“Open it n see for yourself”
Very reluctantly….she opened the bag…and voila…it was the same red dress……..
“What is this……….why are you giving it to me?
She was in a quandary whether to feel elated or wait for the next moment when she will realize that it is nothing but a dream……
The cashier held her hand n slipped the small piece of paper which was given to her by that seemingly flirtatious old man……
She opened it with utter nervousness….fearing a foul play……
It read…
“I saw you from the men’s section…living the dream of a princess…you looked like that little Cinderella….but as you kept the dress back…it was not only your heart…but mine too that was broken…..I don’t have a child but am sure if I had one…she would have been like you…I can’t and I won’t buy you all your dreams…you got to earn it yourself but…this is the least I can do…..please accept it as a blessing from a father……”
She was in tears…..n felt very ashamed of herself…how she jumped to judge his character…rather she was successful in doing his character assassination…how easy is it for us to judge others without knowing the truth…..By judging others we blind ourselves to our own evil ……
Don’t be judgmental…..as they say..you never know what battle are they fighting every day in their lives…
“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world”-
