"Oh, dear! I can’t remember if I have locked the back door or not,” said Hafsa.
Her husband brought the car to a screeching halt.
“Really, Hafsa!” Abdullah said in exasperation. “Now we will have to go all the way back.”
They had been looking forward to their holiday. Abdullah had booked seats in a newly launched luxury train for the weekend. They were to go sightseeing, do a little shopping, eat some exotic food and spend some time together.
“I’ll just be a minute!” Hafsa promised, keys in hand, as they reached their house.
The house had two doors. One in front, which the family used, and one at the back, which was mainly used by the maid, milkman etc. Hafsa dashed to the back only to find the door firmly locked and bolted.
“What a waste of time,” she said wryly, shaking her head. Just then, there was a frantic knock on the back door.
Startled, Hafsa peeked out of the side window. There was an old man outside. She unlocked the door.
“I am very hungry, lady. Do you have some food for an old man?”
Hafsa was torn between her need to go outside to her waiting family and her innate desire to help a needy person. Making up her mind, she told the old man to sit under the shade of the big tree growing just outside their back gate.
She heated some food in the microwave and popped some bread in the toaster, ignoring the impatient honking outside.
Precious minutes ticked by. Hafsa quickly wrapped the food in a disposable dish and handed it to the old man.
“Here you go,” she smiled.
Eyes glistening with gratitude, the old man heaped prayers on her.
“May your family never go hungry. May you live a happy life. May Allah always keep your family safe..,” he prayed with each morsel.
Wiping the kitchen counter, Hafsa quickly locked the back door again and dashed outside.
Their car sped with all possible haste to the station. They were late by 7 minutes.
Two hours later, the train rammed into a delivery van illegally crossing the tracks. The force of the impact caused the front carriage to fall off a bridge.
Amazingly, there were no casualties—the couple booked into that carriage had missed the train.
Image credit: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Uzbek_man_from_central_Uzbekistan.jpg
Her husband brought the car to a screeching halt.
“Really, Hafsa!” Abdullah said in exasperation. “Now we will have to go all the way back.”
They had been looking forward to their holiday. Abdullah had booked seats in a newly launched luxury train for the weekend. They were to go sightseeing, do a little shopping, eat some exotic food and spend some time together.
“I’ll just be a minute!” Hafsa promised, keys in hand, as they reached their house.
The house had two doors. One in front, which the family used, and one at the back, which was mainly used by the maid, milkman etc. Hafsa dashed to the back only to find the door firmly locked and bolted.
“What a waste of time,” she said wryly, shaking her head. Just then, there was a frantic knock on the back door.
Startled, Hafsa peeked out of the side window. There was an old man outside. She unlocked the door.
“I am very hungry, lady. Do you have some food for an old man?”
 |
Hafsa was torn between her need to go outside to her waiting family and her innate desire to help a needy person. Making up her mind, she told the old man to sit under the shade of the big tree growing just outside their back gate.
She heated some food in the microwave and popped some bread in the toaster, ignoring the impatient honking outside.
Precious minutes ticked by. Hafsa quickly wrapped the food in a disposable dish and handed it to the old man.
“Here you go,” she smiled.
Eyes glistening with gratitude, the old man heaped prayers on her.
“May your family never go hungry. May you live a happy life. May Allah always keep your family safe..,” he prayed with each morsel.
Wiping the kitchen counter, Hafsa quickly locked the back door again and dashed outside.
Their car sped with all possible haste to the station. They were late by 7 minutes.
Two hours later, the train rammed into a delivery van illegally crossing the tracks. The force of the impact caused the front carriage to fall off a bridge.
Amazingly, there were no casualties—the couple booked into that carriage had missed the train.
Image credit: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Uzbek_man_from_central_Uzbekistan.jpg
3 comments:
What a lovely story and so well written. It gives the information needed for the reader to understand and nothing extra, no waste!
Thank you so much Magla. You just made my day :-)
This is a love story, indeed. Thanks for sharing.
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