Sunday, August 8, 2010

Pay it forward - Bunch of Flowers

[This is a work of fiction.]


"Gerbera, sir? Only forty rupees." The boy thrust a bunch of flowers against my car-window at a traffic light.
I dismissed him with a shake of my head.
"Please, sir. Very nice gerberas." The kid persisted.
I looked at him. He couldn't be more than ten. At his age, I didn't know what money was. And he was earning his living. I reached for my wallet.
I didn't want the flowers. Perhaps I could give them to my octogenarian neighbour?

Her face lit up. "I can't believe you remembered my birthday."
The cake was delicious, the evening even more so.

_____
A drabble is a story told in exactly 100 words.




A Random Act of Kindness always sets off a chain, which may or may not circle back to you, but which makes the world a better place to be in. See it play out in our Pay it Forward feature, exclusively at the Burrow.


22 comments:

Anonymous said...

As the Dalai Lama once said, "Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive."

Lovely post!

Anonymous said...

Rayna - This really is a wonderful post. Thank you for the reminder of what one little gesture of kindness can do. What a great story of how karma works.

Mason Canyon said...

What a wonderful drabble. Sometimes listening to that inner voice can produce great results. A bit of kindness does go a long way.

Mason
Thoughts in Progress

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

You made two people happy with your purchase!

Unknown said...

What a great point you make with so few words. Thank you.

CD

Cruella Collett said...

I just read R. Mistry's "A Fine Balance". The book moved me greatly (would love to discuss it with you if you have read it), but I must admit it was refreshing to come here and read something more positive (and yet still realistic) about India. Thank you for that :)

Hart Johnson said...

Oh, this was wonderful, Natasha! I really love how the 'charity' then turns into something so perfect as ANOTHER nice act.

LTM said...

I love this! And I esp. love the little tease there at the end~ ;o)

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

How you keep coming up with these wonderful drabbles amazes me.

Yvonne.

Jemi Fraser said...

Love it - got a little chill that it was her birthday :)

Jan Morrison said...

I love the roundness of this, Natasha! You are the drabble Queen!

Jules said...

Don't you just love those 2 for 1 deals? Your insight constantly amazes me.
Trying To Get Over The Rainbow

Mary@GigglesandGuns said...

Loved the twist!
Giggles and Guns

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

This is inspiring, Rayna!

Patricia Stoltey said...

That's a wonderful story, Rayna. Simple good-hearted gestures can do so much good in this world.

Laura Eno said...

Definitely a pay it forward moment! Lovely drabble, Rayna!

dipali said...

Lovely!

Sueann said...

I loved this story!! A good deed turning into a precious gift!
Hugs
SueAnn

Deb and Barbara said...

Beautiful serendipity!
B

The Yard Bard said...

Oh, I liked this a lot! :)

Theres just life said...

A truly lovely drabble. I can't get the smile off my face.

Natasha said...

@ Fiona - I wish I could get everyone to read that quote once a week, if not every day. So true.

@ Margot- when I was a mother with two little children, I have had so much unexpected kindness shown to me, I can spend a lifetime just repaying it and still be in debt.

@ Mason- it does, doesn't it?

@ Alex- which is the whole point of Pay it Forward...

@ Clarissa- thank you.

@ Cruella- if you really look at it, even A Fine Balance is more about kindness than about misery.

@ Hart- that was a nice twist, wasn't it? As a writer, I was very proud of that. *tries to beam modestly*

@ Leigh - that was my favourite bit.

@ Yvonne - like a friend once told me, there are millions of stories in the world. The point is not to think of one, but to choose the one you want to tell. Will you ever run out of poems?

@ Jemi- thank you. I loved writing that twist.

@ Jan- *blushes*

@ Jules- and wouldn't it be fantastic if it worked that way in real life too?

@ Mary- thank you.

@ Elizabeth- thank you.

@ Patricia- it does, doesn't it?

@ Laura- thank you.

@ dipali- thank you.

@ SueAnn- wonderful, isn't it?

@ Barbara- and that is my favourite word. Or at least one of my favourites.

@ The Yard Bard- thank you.

@ Theres just life- that was my good deed for the day :-)

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