I have read many moral stories and have even heard from people who could articulate some of them so well that they are spanking new in my memories; But this one - I witnessed from an arm's distance. In fact was a part of it.
My friend Leena hailed from a meager family. She was a brilliant student and managed to do her studies in the best institutions; all by her own, by virtue of her marks she was backed by scholarship everywhere. She had now landed in one of the best MNCs and patiently waited to complete her 5 years service ONLY for the long service award of 5 lakhs. As the eldest daughter she had responsibility to educate her brother, get her younger sister married and clear-off her father's loans. Leena always kept a low profile. I was the only one at work she would speak with. With time I knew her well and also what that 5 lakhs meant to her. It was on Jan 15th that she was going to see her immediate mission come true – she was completing her 5 years in the company on 15th of January. The week of 15th had begun, but with a shocker from HR. The HR manager, an outsider, Mr. Kay Winsley had broadcasted that the service awards were to be discontinued with immediate effect and that people were anyway rewarded with appropriate hikes with each year getting tagged to their experience. Leena was broken. All her hopes were shattered. When she wanted to chat with me I was not around; she had to vent her feelings out with someone. She typed me a mail.
Hi Kiran,
You try to console me every time I curse my fate. The ultimate reality is that God isn’t fair. Some people seem to always struggle facing one catastrophe after another with nothing ever going right. What is the fault in me if things go wrong and continue to go wrong with me trying to give the best? Despite my efforts, the life I wish to have is always distant to me and the nearer it gets, farther destiny kicks it.
I have lost faith in everything. My sincere efforts have no place here. It’s all an illusion.
I am very upset, Kiran. Sorry for dumping it on you.
-Leena
Back from my tea break, I opened the outlook to check my mails and decided to read them, with latest first. There were three mails - all from the HR Manager, Kay Winsley. The first mail was a reply to his earlier broadcasted mail: “Correction: Please see the new policy is effective from Feb 1st”.The second mail was a forward from Mr. Kay, but with no subject. That puzzled my mind for a stint till I could open the mail and read its contents. It was Leena's mail to me. She had e-posted it to Mr. Kay by mistake, probably the starting letter “K” was to be blamed. (He had forwarded her-mail-to-me to me. There was only one Kiran in my company and I guess he looked up the data-base for my name). The 3rd unread mail was THE MAIL which had upset Leena – the mail on discontinuing long service rewards. I finished reading my mails to realize it was past 6 and Leena had by then left for the day.
I telephoned her to give the news which at the moment was the only hope to her life. Leena burst in joy.
To this day we do not know if that was just a coincidence, a miracle in blessing or was Mr. Kay so considerate to change the office policy just for the sake of "one" good worker? Even if he wished, did he have the authority to?
GOD KNOWS IT ALL :)
I can’t forget Leena’s words that she uttered at the emotional moment. “We don’t always understand or want to understand what is in store for us. Call it God, Fate or Destiny – there is something running in the background, but show up in the fore when it feels is the RIGHT time. Focus, sincerity, belief, faith are the investments that pay off. Do not always expect divine rewards; the rewards may come up at divine intervals when it is most needed”!
- This is not in my regular story lines with some interesting twist at the end. Not sure how many will like.
