My Dads Ol' Car

Ever since I can remember, this has been our family car, I literally grew up in it. It took us through some happy as well as sad times. My father bought this Toyota Corolla in the year 1980 (yeh, a real old timer), its as old as my younger brother. Its been part of my family for the past 28 years. My father takes really good care of his car. No wonder, the car has always been a reliable piece of equipment even into its old age.

During the past couple of years, rust had creeped into some of its exposed parts and the rickety old timer had become grumpy making a lot of rattling noises during motion. On the roads, people look at it with fascination, while some with disgust. Nothing can hide the fact that this car has endured some unbelievable desert summer heats during the past 3 decades. Both me and my brother took our first driving lessons on this car. This 1980 Corolla did play a major role in moulding me to the kind of person I am today. My father has been dreaming that Toyota will award him for preserving this car for so long and probably take the engine back to their factory in Japan to do research on it (Ok, that part was my dream .. hehe).

Finally today my dad sold it to a Pakistani man for 1,000 Riyals. Its nothing much to sell a car for, but lately it had become a burden for us to carry around. When I was two and a half years old, I snatched the car keys from my dad and ran out of the house only to fall down just before reaching the car. The key pierced my cheek and it made a dimple on my left cheek which appears to this very day only when I smile. The car had made a mark on me as a reminder of the good ol' days. Even though now we miss it dearly, nothing can takes its place because it has made a mark in our hearts.

The Angel At The Reception

I ran up the stairs of the old shabby building, I was late as usual!! My forehead was strewn with light perspiration. In a quick flick I had removed my shoes and as I entered the office on the first floor. I instantly felt something was missing from this picture. It took a few seconds to sink in that it was the beautiful girl who sat at the reception of the office. Without even my knowledge, she has now become part of my everyday life.

It was July of 2007 and I had enrolled myself in a small training institute in the city of Cochin for some certifications. To be frank, I hated the institute and the classroom environment they offered. Few days after I joined for classes, I noticed this girl who sat at the reception. She was very silent, simple and beautiful as an angel. I must say, God couldn't have made her anymore perfect. She was a breath of fresh air in that crapy place. It was really nice to see her there everyday.

Beauty like hers is meant to be admired. The Creator has made all creatures beautiful, but for some .... he has given that extra touch to give pleasure to our senses. Beauty is like a beautiful bird that is in flight enjoying its freedom. The moment you try to possess it and put it in a cage .... the beauty is lost.

I had been seeing her for 2 months now and all of a sudden she had disappeared. It took me few more days to learn that she had left the institute for a better job. A sudden cold gripped my heart (boy, I was sad!) and I couldn't understand the feelings I was going through for someone I hardly knew, hardly spoke to .... and whose name I didn't even know. It was not any crush or not love, but its the kind of happiness that makes you smile inside when you see something beautiful and now that happiness is lost!... sniff. I guess its human nature, we don't know what we have until we lose it. We take everyone around us for granted.

A quick search around the institute and I found her name, ...a quick internet search and I found her email id and her home address (Thank God for Google). That night I wrote her a thank you email and few days later I did hear from her, but thats not the point here. But that her presence had brought light into my otherwise dull and boring life. Its angels like these who take earthly mortals like me into that heaven of happiness, even if it means for a few seconds.

Thank you Angel.