CRASH!
The mug
slipped from his hand and scattered all over the floor, spilling tea all
around. Neel let out a defeated sigh. There goes a good cup of tea! He got down
to his knees, picked up the pieces and carefully dumped them inside the
dustbin. He took out the mop and cleaned the floor. His wife walked into the
dining room and saw him sweating on the floor.
“Broke your cup?” She got down and helped Neel clean up the mess.
“Yeah. No more tea for the next 2 weeks, until
the market re-opens and I get myself a new mug!”
“Please! You need at least 10 cups of tea in a
day, how can you go for 2 weeks without your lifeline?”
“The country is on a 21-day lock-down due to
the Coronavirus epidemic, remember? All shops are closed, except for basic
amenities, so no chance of buying a new cup. And I broke my spare months ago.”
“So? Use mine. You need it more than me anyway.”
“Are you sure?”
She smiled
at him and he realized how lucky he was.
A few
thousand miles away, Niraj was heading back to his village with his two children,
one on his shoulders and the other in his lap. They were walking continuously
for the last 5 hours and the road showed no signs of ending. He wanted to rest
but knew that he could not afford to waste any more time.
The family
had been on the road for 2 days now and the kids were hungry. If they continued
at this pace, Niraj knew that they would reach home in a day’s time. Then the
kids would have a roof above their heads and a bed to sleep on. They would have
plateful to eat too. He was afraid of catching the virus but watching his
children go to sleep with empty stomachs scared him more.
Niraj
pulled himself together and continued to walk, defying the piercing pain in his
hands and shoulders.
“Let me carry them for a while.”
His wife
placed a hand on his back.
“No, you will get tired.”
“We will walk slowly, you can gather your
strength in the meanwhile.”
“We cannot be delayed.”
“We will not be delayed. Let me carry them for
a couple of hours. After that, you can take them back and we will make up for
the lost time.”
“Are you sure?”
She smiled
at him and he realized how lucky he was.
