Small Story 443

Small Story 433. Fate’s Decision Pradeep returned home after his usual round of shopping. After retiring, he had settled in the Jayanagar area, where he had built a comfortable house for himself and his wife, Archana. Their two daughters lived in the US, and the couple visited them once every two years. Pradeep had retired from DRDL as a scientist nearly twenty years ago. These days, walking through the neighborhood and meeting friends had become his passion—along with his love for blogging. As he entered the house, he was surprised to see his old friends Madhav and Mukund waiting for him. He greeted them warmly and asked, “What would you like to have?” “Oh, our sister has already served us,” they said. “We’ve actually come here to tell you something important.” Madhav continued, “We saw from your social media profile that you’ve completed 80 years today. And there’s more—your blog has been selected as Blog of the Year on our friend Narender’s website! They’re sponsoring a grand birthday celebration for you in ten days, on your star birthday, following the traditional custom.” Pradeep and Archana were stunned. Arrangements for the hall and other details were already completed, and they could invite up to 500 friends and readers. Pradeep had completely forgotten that he was turning 80 this year. He never expected that his simple passion for writing would lead to such a grand celebration. And then came the biggest surprise—their daughters were flying in from the US to be with him on this special occasion. Archana felt that their family deity had truly blessed Pradeep on this memorable milestone. It was a divine gift, giving them the chance to invite friends and relatives and celebrate such a significant birthday. Pradeep had never planned anything like this; even his late father and brother had not celebrated their 80th birthdays. But fate had other plans. A man who wished to keep the day simple found that destiny had chosen a different, more beautiful path for him. K.Ragavan 28-11-45