A day back my friends and I decided to go watch a movie called "He's not that into you". It was a movie where truth was masked in comedy. It was pretty late when we came out of the theater. Past midnight.
It had been drizzling for a while and by the time we hopped into the bus and got off at the bus stop near the campus, it started pouring cats and dogs. So we stood there under the shade of the bus stop waiting for the rain to die down or to hitch a ride in a cab, which ever comes first. Standing in the same bus stop was an elderly looking man. He had a pleasant face and his origins seemed chinese. Ten ~fifteen minutes passed by and the rain hadnt stopped neither did any "unhired" cab pass us by.
Finaly, frustration seemed to get better of us. I even contemplated on making a run for it. I'd rather be soaking wet than wait another five more minutes in this bus stop. Out of the blue this elderly person stuck out his umbrella to us. It completely took me off-guard. He was lending us his umbrella un-asked. Whats shocking about this?
Most people I have met here are not as friendly as they think they might be. Yes, they could be wonderful people but only if you are one of their bestbuds, not a random stranger. And, they dont take the time off for friendly gestures because this place is all about "you look after your ownself". In short you could be dying and they would step over you so that they can catch the bus in time.
Coming back to the story, he had only one umbrella and, to me, it was not right to make it inconvenient for him. I pointed this out him but he kept insisting that we should (atleast that is what i assume it to be cos he was replying in chinese). However, it was here that I realised how much non verbal communication helps. The expression on our faces expressed frustration while his kind eyes and his gestures expressed that it was alright for us to borrow his umbrella. Five mintues passed by and again he offered his umbrella. This time my friend was panicking (she had bf issues to deal with). Ultimately we took up his offer, thanked him profusely and walked to the main street to get a cab. Just as a cab came by us, so did the bus that the man was waiting for. The man got into the bus and left without his umbrella. HE didnt even look behind at us. It was as if he just gave us (not lent) his umbrella willingly. We didn't know his name, his address and thus there was no way of returning it back to him! Ultimately my friend said she would leave it the lobby for some other needy student to take it.
From this entire incident, as minor as this maybe for some, it was an eye opener. He didnt have to go all the way to help us out. Especially in this world where people dont even care about their neighbors or even worse, do harmful acts to hurt them. His deed was very touching to me and I hope that by blogging about this, he realises by some means that his deed didnt go unnoticed.
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