The Optional Necessity

You could almost hear the sound of leaves being dragged by the wind on that fall evening. There was color on the streets everywhere, by which you could tell what an exhausting, but at the same time enjoyable, day it had been. People had started coming out of their houses, all washed up after they had had their fill of the spectrum. They were out, just taking a leisurely stroll around the block. They weren’t looking for anything specific, well not all of them anyway, but we’ll get to that later. They were just out to enjoy the cool breeze that the drizzly weather had brought with it. Maybe have a chat with their neighbors about how they enjoyed the day. How the little boy ran around the house with water balloons in his hands. How the little girls were fighting over who would get to put color on whom first. The festival in itself was not a very different experience for most of the family, but it was the kids who brought novelty & life to the whole thing. It was only after the kids were drained of all their energy when anyone was allowed to be done.

All this made for interesting conversation over a cup of tea and some snacks, sitting by the shop which was frequented by many in the society. Those in their early 20s would get philosophical about “growing up”, hinting at a lack of enthusiasm for festivities — just another day, isn’t it? But, coming back to those who weren’t out to talk, but were looking for something. A small family. Mother, father, a daughter probably just in the 2nd or 3rd grade and an even younger boy who hadn’t quite mastered the art of walking yet. From the looks of it, the daughter had something new to play with on that day. But there was a big problem that needed to be solved. They were out of batteries in the house!

Now it was the festival of colors, when most of the shopkeepers were also busy following a similar routine with their families, so hadn’t gotten the time to open up for business. But even the iciest soul would not be able to bear the sight of the girl’s face when she couldn’t play with that toy that she’d just gotten her hands on. So, they had decided to go out, shop to shop, until they found one open! Now, they knocked on one shuttered store after another, till they found one that was slightly open — the look on her face! It was like a genie had granted her one of her three precious wishes.

The dad explained the situation to the shopkeeper, who went inside the store. Soon, he emerged, holding in his hand, a treasure that was worth more than anything at that time. It was a couple of batteries. She lit up like a 100-watt bulb. When her father handed her those, she hugged him so tightly, she could have forced out his insides. That moment did not mean that she was just happy because her wish had been fulfilled. No. It was something more profound. Her tight squeeze was more because she was made to feel important, her needs were given a priority. She felt real gratitude because such an effort was made just for her happiness. Now, I believe that had they not found that shop open, maybe she wouldn’t have been that happy. But she still would’ve given a squeeze to her father, perhaps a gentler one this time, she is a kid after all. But I guess we’ll never know what was actually going on in that head of hers.

This post has been migrated from my previous blog.

About this post:

I wrote this one when I was waiting for the train to my college. It was the festival of colors that day, but (unfortunately) I had to get on that train that day itself.

So, on my way to the station I came across shuttered stores and some families coming out for an evening stroll. That’s when this story came to my mind.

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed this one.