“Hmmm..Well they cud just as well put a notice saying.. ‘We’ve already recruited!!’”,she thought to herself as she walked down ta street. The ppl who were chosen wer those who knew ta management..at least most of them,cos she had seen them discretely nodding and smiling as they had entered the hall.
“Shut up Joanne!”,she chastened herself..”Just cos you dint get thru doesn’t mean tat those who did get thru cheated their way in…and even if they did…lucky them!!!Count yr blessings gal rather than grudging others theirs!!”,she sighed.”Now that’s a sentence oft repeated”, she thought dryly.She had been searching for a job for the past three months now…but with no luck. The doors were closed wherever she’d knocked so far..”we’re not hiring”… “Maybe you could try next year”…”sorry”…was all she seemed to be hearing lately….
The street was crowded..a perfect place for those who wanted to be lost in the crowd...4months ago it had all been so different..life had been very kind to them all…maybe exceedingly so,cos that might’ve been why papa had been taken away from their midst…all it had taken was a couple of seconds for everything to have changed for ever…papa being rushed to ta hospital..mamma tensed..pale..the sorry faces of ta doctors..People hugging her..mamma wailing..jenny looking up at her..all lost and not quite understanding matters..It din’t sink in till after a week…when she had folded ta washed clothes as usual..and went to keep them in his side of the cupboard…it suddenly dawned to her that he’d never again unbutton those shirts..that she’d never hear him yelling at her for not starching his white shirt…or ask her to find his missing sock….That was when it had actually sunk in..n she’d broken down…It had taken her a month to recover fully…and life had to go on.They’d never been rich.But papa’s income had sustained them.Now that his savings were dwindling..and mama’s earnings at ta grocery store was not enuf to pay jenny’s fees and sustain them for a month,she had to get a job…but things had been bad so far.She perched herself on a rusty stool of ta restaurant she’d known from schooldays,”Ben’s”..it was called.The only place wer she’d get a tea within her budget ,which was rather meager.
The tea was served…and as she twirled ta spoon to cool her ruffled feathers..rather than the already cool beverage..she noticed a begger moving down the street.His walk was rather srange…he was staring ahead as though he had lost something..but cudnt quite understand wat it was!He stood still breathing in deeply..u cud make that out..he was scarcely clothed..and his bones were jutting out of the coarse fabric covering his body.And his face was slightly tilted to ta side…as though he was remembering something.He closed his eyes for a few seconds….took in a deep breath..and then his face suddenly lit up in a smile..He suddenly opened his eyes and started looking around.his eyes fell on the the tiny window of “Ben’s” kitchen.And his smile widened.
He made his way towards the shop.She could see him from where she was seated..as he crossed the street to make his way,towards where his eyes and feet seemed to lead him… His eyes..they seemed to feast on the exhaust fan!She smiled at ta mesmerized expression on his face as he stood below the exhaust..but the smile faded into grim realization..as he took deep breaths in.She realized that he was taken in by the smell tat wafted down from the exhaust..hmm..it was ta rather pungent odour of left over remnants of ta day being heated again ..to make something edible….but it might have seemed like fragrance to him.At least tats what she could say from the look on his face.He took a deep breath in and then settled down below ta exhaust…spread his piece f clothe on ta floor and sat down beside it.He rattled his coin box as he sat down to get ta attention of passers by..but ter was something abt his expression tat made u think tat he was happy abt something…maybe it was ta way tat he stared idly at his box..his eyes somewer far away..
That expression on his face reminded her of something…she’d seen the same expression on Jenny’s face last week when they had gone to Aunt Maggies place.Her little daughter had been playing with one of those barbies you get to see everywhere…blonde long hair…pink outfit..and all that.She’d hugged ta little kid and had turned away..thats when she’d caught site of Jenny’s expression.And she’d known what it had meant then.Jenny’s Barbie had bitten to pieces by their old dog..and papa had promised her a new one on her birthday which was a month after he’d died.Young though she was Jenny had been quick enuf to understand that things were currently bad for them..and had not demanded her birthday gift.Her birthday had been a rather sober affair..being the first actual occasion for which papa was not with them .Mama had broken down midway…and even she had had trouble holding back her tears…
“That expression on Jenny’s face..it was the same as that of this man..”,she thot to herself…”of wanting but knowing for sure that it was something she cudnt have…yet happy at ta prospect of being able to enjoy while it lasted…as long as she was near the doll.”
She sighed to herself and got up to pay for her tea.Things had to get better.She’d make sure that they did.
“Shut up Joanne!”,she chastened herself..”Just cos you dint get thru doesn’t mean tat those who did get thru cheated their way in…and even if they did…lucky them!!!Count yr blessings gal rather than grudging others theirs!!”,she sighed.”Now that’s a sentence oft repeated”, she thought dryly.She had been searching for a job for the past three months now…but with no luck. The doors were closed wherever she’d knocked so far..”we’re not hiring”… “Maybe you could try next year”…”sorry”…was all she seemed to be hearing lately….
The street was crowded..a perfect place for those who wanted to be lost in the crowd...4months ago it had all been so different..life had been very kind to them all…maybe exceedingly so,cos that might’ve been why papa had been taken away from their midst…all it had taken was a couple of seconds for everything to have changed for ever…papa being rushed to ta hospital..mamma tensed..pale..the sorry faces of ta doctors..People hugging her..mamma wailing..jenny looking up at her..all lost and not quite understanding matters..It din’t sink in till after a week…when she had folded ta washed clothes as usual..and went to keep them in his side of the cupboard…it suddenly dawned to her that he’d never again unbutton those shirts..that she’d never hear him yelling at her for not starching his white shirt…or ask her to find his missing sock….That was when it had actually sunk in..n she’d broken down…It had taken her a month to recover fully…and life had to go on.They’d never been rich.But papa’s income had sustained them.Now that his savings were dwindling..and mama’s earnings at ta grocery store was not enuf to pay jenny’s fees and sustain them for a month,she had to get a job…but things had been bad so far.She perched herself on a rusty stool of ta restaurant she’d known from schooldays,”Ben’s”..it was called.The only place wer she’d get a tea within her budget ,which was rather meager.
The tea was served…and as she twirled ta spoon to cool her ruffled feathers..rather than the already cool beverage..she noticed a begger moving down the street.His walk was rather srange…he was staring ahead as though he had lost something..but cudnt quite understand wat it was!He stood still breathing in deeply..u cud make that out..he was scarcely clothed..and his bones were jutting out of the coarse fabric covering his body.And his face was slightly tilted to ta side…as though he was remembering something.He closed his eyes for a few seconds….took in a deep breath..and then his face suddenly lit up in a smile..He suddenly opened his eyes and started looking around.his eyes fell on the the tiny window of “Ben’s” kitchen.And his smile widened.
He made his way towards the shop.She could see him from where she was seated..as he crossed the street to make his way,towards where his eyes and feet seemed to lead him… His eyes..they seemed to feast on the exhaust fan!She smiled at ta mesmerized expression on his face as he stood below the exhaust..but the smile faded into grim realization..as he took deep breaths in.She realized that he was taken in by the smell tat wafted down from the exhaust..hmm..it was ta rather pungent odour of left over remnants of ta day being heated again ..to make something edible….but it might have seemed like fragrance to him.At least tats what she could say from the look on his face.He took a deep breath in and then settled down below ta exhaust…spread his piece f clothe on ta floor and sat down beside it.He rattled his coin box as he sat down to get ta attention of passers by..but ter was something abt his expression tat made u think tat he was happy abt something…maybe it was ta way tat he stared idly at his box..his eyes somewer far away..
That expression on his face reminded her of something…she’d seen the same expression on Jenny’s face last week when they had gone to Aunt Maggies place.Her little daughter had been playing with one of those barbies you get to see everywhere…blonde long hair…pink outfit..and all that.She’d hugged ta little kid and had turned away..thats when she’d caught site of Jenny’s expression.And she’d known what it had meant then.Jenny’s Barbie had bitten to pieces by their old dog..and papa had promised her a new one on her birthday which was a month after he’d died.Young though she was Jenny had been quick enuf to understand that things were currently bad for them..and had not demanded her birthday gift.Her birthday had been a rather sober affair..being the first actual occasion for which papa was not with them .Mama had broken down midway…and even she had had trouble holding back her tears…
“That expression on Jenny’s face..it was the same as that of this man..”,she thot to herself…”of wanting but knowing for sure that it was something she cudnt have…yet happy at ta prospect of being able to enjoy while it lasted…as long as she was near the doll.”
She sighed to herself and got up to pay for her tea.Things had to get better.She’d make sure that they did.
