Skip to main content

The Old Lady at the Railway Station

 I remember this particular day I was feeling very downcast. I do not recall the exact reason for feeling so but something had happened and it was weighing down on me so bad. I remember sitting alone on a bench at the railway station with tears in my eyes. I was holding them back as best as I could, trying to act normal in a public space. That's when an old lady tripped and fell to the ground a little beside me. As it was the far end of the platform, there were not many people around. I instantly got to my feet and went to help that poor woman as any human being might have done in that scenario. A man who stood nearby also came forward to help her up. As she was able to stand back upon her feet, she looked me in the eyes and just broke out in tears.

It was quite shocking to me at first- to have an old woman sobbing against me so violently. That man tried to calm her down but I could form no word to soothe her. I was still stunned. I honestly did not know what to do. We led her to the nearest bench and made her sit there. That man kept asking her what had happened because it was quite evident that she was not crying because she fell down. There was some other reason for it but she remained speechless with tears just falling out of her eyes with no end. And all the restrain I had on myself- I lost it at once. The tears I had been holding back for too long started to cascade down my cheeks slowly. The old woman took notice of this and wiped them away.

After a while, she calmed herself down and asked for some space. The train I was supposed to get on arrived by then but my heart did not allow me to just board it and leave. I returned back to the bench where I was seated and kept an eye on the lady once in a while. She had stopped shaking and sobbing but she had this look on her face that told me she wasn't alright in the least. She kept looking at me from time to time and I did not know what to do so I just smiled at her whenever her eyes met mine. After ten minutes or so, she turned to face me and returned a smile as best as she could. I got up and went to her side and asked her what had happened for her to undergo such agony.

She did not answer my question, instead, she placed her hand upon my head. She told me that I have a nice smile and that she would pray to God to get rid of all my affliction. I smiled once again but was not satisfied with having my question ghosted. So I reiterated the same again but she just shook her head and told me she was facing a loss that shouldn't be shared with a kid. She told me not to worry about it and that I had made her feel a little better by staying back and making sure she was alright. She once again told me that she really loved my smile. She told me to never lose it no matter what. 

And it's then and there that I actually realised the true power a smile holds. A small smile- a little gesture- a tiny concern- we underestimate the power of all these things in daily life. An act of kindness takes minimal effort mostly. But that can offer the greatest relief to those in need and it might just be the push they need to keep going.

From that day onwards, I vowed to myself to never turn a blind eye to someone who could possibly need my help. Even when I have nothing, if the smallest of smiles can offer some comfort to a person who passes me by, then I know that I will be content at heart.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Significance of Jo March's Monologue in 'Little Women'

'Little Women', a classic novel by Louisa May Alcott was adapted into a movie under the direction of Greta Gerwig (one of my absolute favourite directors of all time) in the year 2019. It portrays the lives of four sisters- Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy- navigating love, aspirations, and societal expectations during the Civil War era. The film beautifully captures their individual journeys and the evolving dynamics of sisterhood. Jo March, who is the second of the four March sisters, is the protagonist who aspires with every fibre in her to become a well-acclaimed writer. It's even more interesting how the character of Jo is actually based on Louisa May Alcott herself, making the story sort of a semi-autobiography. Played by Saoirse Ronan, Jo is portrayed as an extremely independent woman, challenging the gender roles and the restraints placed upon women in society.  Even though the whole movie is something that strikes the very depths of our hearts, there is one particular monolo...
Post a Comment
Read more

My Experience with Writer's Block and Overcoming It

  Writer's block, in my own personal experience, is something that eats away at your brain. You sit down in front of your laptop or your book and you want to write- you really really want to write- but your imagination fails you and no words come out. Then, you eventually have to shut the laptop or the book and keep it aside and I think that's one of the worst feelings in the world for a writer. As someone who has always penned down her thoughts and feelings, not being able to write is like a curse to me. If I do not write, I cannot express myself in the way I want to express myself, and that is truly something that disturbs me to my very core. When I was in high school, I had started on a fanfiction with a really intricate and complex plot with even more complicated sub-plots (and I do not know how I came up with all that but I just did). In the beginning, I was so excited about it and I was making multiple character and plot outlines and writing three to four chapters per day...
2 comments
Read more

The Thing About Life

Let me start off by telling you some good news. It has passed and you will never experience that again. Now let me tell you a bad one. It has passed and you will never experience that again. There are instances we wish we could freeze and frame forever. Like, even when you're living in it, you will feel a kind of ache within yourself over the fact that it will end at one point in time. And there are other moments you just want to get done with and leave the whole thing behind. You've had enough. It has drained you to the point where you want to be rid of it as soon as possible. This is life- a remix tape of the same two scenarios over and over again. This is life until your death. The highs and lows are a part of our existence. We cannot choose to keep the good part and avoid the bad. We have to learn to balance it both. We should cherish the good moments and enjoy them to the best of our capability whether it is with our loved ones or by ourselves. Learn to live in the moment....
Post a Comment
Read more