The Incident
Sitting on the couch legs folded beneath me I looked across at my friend as he sipped his coffee in an effort to ward of the chill which filled the air. The weather had been rather severe and I cannot remember when last I felt so cold.
We have known each other since we were three, and have remained friends through elementary school and later through high school. We remained in contact even when I left home to make my way through college and he took a gap year, which turned into five, as he made his way from London across Europe to finally end up in India.
He looked exactly as I remember him. They say that the eyes are the windows to the soul and I saw in his the a contentment that I so longed for. He seemed to be quite happy to just sit there sipping his coffee at peace with himself and the world.
"In my travels I have seen many things" he said, breaking the silence that I was beginning to become accustomed too. "I have met many men, loved many women, played with children of all ages and once, for a couple of weeks, I even looked after a baby girl. I have been happy, sad, had my heart broken and even broke a few hearts. Was elated, disappointed and even shed some tears. And I have been loved and loved like I never loved before."
"I have seen many things. Mans inhumanity to man and kindness that defies explanation. And through all of this there is one incident that stands out in my mind. One incident, and I cannot explain why, that is so vivid it may as well have happened yesterday"
"I was on my way to Rawalpindi, and stopped of at a quite roadside stall. I had bought a soft drink and sat on my backpack just taking in the scene. I had not seen many on this road, which was unusual. Wallowing in the unspoiled beauty around me I felt a tap on my shoulder. An oldish man dressed in the traditional garb was standing beside me. I had not noticed him approach me. The lines on his face spoke of the hardships he endured and the roughness of his hands of the land that he worked. He spoke a few words in a dialect I did not understand and finally gestured to the soft drink in my hand. I walked to the stall and bought a soft drink and handed it to him."
"Sitting on his haunches he proceeded to consume the drink, slowly savouring every drop. A look of total bliss and contentment on his face. I sat and watched him. To think that a drink could bring such bliss and contentment to someone amazed me. I watched as he finished his drink, handed me the bottle smiled said, what I can only assume were words of thanks, and proceeded on his way. I do not know why, out of all the things I have experienced, that this is the one that has remained most vivid with me."
I looked at my friend and saw how touched he had been by this incident. To have given another the ability to experience something that brought so much joy and appreciation from another is indeed very special.
We have known each other since we were three, and have remained friends through elementary school and later through high school. We remained in contact even when I left home to make my way through college and he took a gap year, which turned into five, as he made his way from London across Europe to finally end up in India.
He looked exactly as I remember him. They say that the eyes are the windows to the soul and I saw in his the a contentment that I so longed for. He seemed to be quite happy to just sit there sipping his coffee at peace with himself and the world.
"In my travels I have seen many things" he said, breaking the silence that I was beginning to become accustomed too. "I have met many men, loved many women, played with children of all ages and once, for a couple of weeks, I even looked after a baby girl. I have been happy, sad, had my heart broken and even broke a few hearts. Was elated, disappointed and even shed some tears. And I have been loved and loved like I never loved before."
"I have seen many things. Mans inhumanity to man and kindness that defies explanation. And through all of this there is one incident that stands out in my mind. One incident, and I cannot explain why, that is so vivid it may as well have happened yesterday"
"I was on my way to Rawalpindi, and stopped of at a quite roadside stall. I had bought a soft drink and sat on my backpack just taking in the scene. I had not seen many on this road, which was unusual. Wallowing in the unspoiled beauty around me I felt a tap on my shoulder. An oldish man dressed in the traditional garb was standing beside me. I had not noticed him approach me. The lines on his face spoke of the hardships he endured and the roughness of his hands of the land that he worked. He spoke a few words in a dialect I did not understand and finally gestured to the soft drink in my hand. I walked to the stall and bought a soft drink and handed it to him."
"Sitting on his haunches he proceeded to consume the drink, slowly savouring every drop. A look of total bliss and contentment on his face. I sat and watched him. To think that a drink could bring such bliss and contentment to someone amazed me. I watched as he finished his drink, handed me the bottle smiled said, what I can only assume were words of thanks, and proceeded on his way. I do not know why, out of all the things I have experienced, that this is the one that has remained most vivid with me."
I looked at my friend and saw how touched he had been by this incident. To have given another the ability to experience something that brought so much joy and appreciation from another is indeed very special.
Like all things in life, the biggest joys sometimes comes from the smallest things and gestures and sometimes the worst pains we can feel that linger with us also comes from what seems the smallest most insignificance.
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