Small Story 617.

 Small Story 617.

Surprise Bus Encounter

Hearing the conductor’s voice, Ram, who was sitting in the front row of the bus, turned back. The conductor was asking an old man of about sixty-five years for his ticket money. Ram walked towards him and was surprised to see that it was his uncle, Keshav.

Keshav was telling the conductor, “I forgot to bring my wallet.”

Ram greeted his uncle warmly, paid for the ticket, and sat beside him. Keshav had helped Ram greatly during his college days by supporting his studies, and Ram always respected him deeply.

Keshav said softly, “Today, in a hurry, I forgot both my wallet and my mobile phone at home.”

Ram took him to his clinic, ordered tea for him, and said, “Uncle, luckily my car is in service today, so I came by bus. Otherwise, I would never have seen you.”

After examining him, Ram found that everything was normal. Then Keshav whispered, “This morning I received a message from my old friend Murthy’s daughter, Rachana. She said Murthy, who worked with me in the bank years ago, has started showing symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and has become very forgetful. Hearing that upset me so much that, without telling anyone, I left home to visit him. Smitha thought I had only gone for a walk inside the apartment complex. In my confusion, I forgot to take my wallet and mobile phone.”

Ram immediately called Smitha and said, “Don’t worry about searching for Dad. He is with me. I will bring him home in an hour after seeing my patients.”

Smitha was surprised to hear that her father was at Ram’s clinic.

Exactly one hour later, Ram brought Uncle Keshav home. He explained everything to Smitha and advised her, “Please take Uncle this evening to visit his friend Murthy. Meeting him may make him feel better.”

After enjoying the delicious tea prepared by Smitha, Ram happily took an auto back home, whispering to himself, “It was good that my car went for servicing today.”

K.Ragavan

21-5-26