Small Story 714.

 Small Story 714

Life Is Beautiful – 59

After four hours, Ram’s flight reached Dubai International Airport. Before landing, Ram received a beautiful wallet as a complimentary gift from Emirates Airlines. He was pleasantly surprised and began wondering how he would reach Kaathambari’s office and what arrangements had been made for him.

After collecting his luggage and completing the immigration formalities, Ram came out of the airport. Suddenly, he saw a man holding a name board with his name on it and calling out, “Mr. Ram!”

Ram walked towards him and greeted him.

“Mr. Ram, my name is Ali. Our Chief asked me to receive you and take you to our guest house. Welcome to Dubai!”

“Thank you, Ali,” Ram replied warmly.

After a few minutes, they reached the car park. Ali opened the car door and said, “Please get in, sir.”

Ram got in and sat in the back seat. As they drove, he looked out of the window. On both sides of the road, he could see magnificent buildings, high-rise towers and beautifully maintained roads. The grandeur of Dubai impressed him greatly.

After about twenty minutes, Ali reached the Channel’s guest house on the beautiful Sheikh Zayed Road. He took Ram’s suitcase and escorted him inside.

It was a beautiful, posh and well-furnished two-bedroom apartment with all the necessary cooking facilities. Ram looked around in amazement. The accommodation was far better than he had expected.

Ram turned to Ali and asked, “Ali, which country are you from?”

“I am from India, Chennai, sir. I have been here for the past fifteen years, and I have been working with this channel for the past eight years.”

“Good,” Ram said with a smile.

Ali then whispered, “Sir, I will leave you to take some rest. Madam Kaathambari will meet you soon. She has gone to meet the Secretary of the Education Department.”

“Fine, Ali. I will relax,” Ram replied.

After Ali left, Ram looked at the local time and adjusted his watch. It was 4:30 p.m. He had enjoyed a good lunch on the flight, and after the long journey, he slowly fell asleep.

Some time later, the calling bell rang.

Ram woke up, went to the door and opened it.

There stood Kaathambari, with her usual warm smile and friendly nature. Dressed in a blue skirt, she looked pleasant and elegant—the typical confident journalist and television anchor.

“How was your journey?” she asked.

“Amazing!” Ram replied. “I was upgraded to Business Class, and Emirates also gave me this beautiful wallet as a gift.”

Kaathambari looked at the wallet, smiled and said, “Nice!”

They spent some time talking about his journey and his stay in Dubai. Before leaving, Kaathambari said, “I have informed the guest house staff to provide you with idlis for dinner. If you prefer bread, you can ask them. You can also request tea whenever you need it. Just press this bell, and they will come and attend to you.”

She smiled and added, “Today is your day to relax. I will keep in touch with you. Take good rest.”

“From now on, use this phone for all purposes. The number is given on this card. You can inform your friends about it,” Kaathambari said.

“Thank you, Kaathambari,” Ram replied.

Kaathambari then left.

Ram sat quietly, reminiscing about the day’s unexpected and pleasant incidents—the unexpected upgrade to Business Class, the complimentary wallet from the airline, the warm welcome at the airport and, above all, the beautiful accommodation that he had never expected.

He felt deeply grateful and silently thanked his deity for everything that had happened.

Just then, his calling bell rang again.

Ram looked towards the door in surprise.

Who could it be this time?

To be continued…

K. Ragavan

26-8-26