It had been a long and weary work day…another in a long series of such days.
I had woken up this morning feeling as if I was preparing to step into battle. I got dressed with thoughts milling about in my head the same way as they would in an armour-plated warrior’s mind. I did not look forward to this day like so many others before it.
I drove my chariot…er…car through the traffic telling myself that I was up to it … that I had what it took to be battle-ready.
Even as I entered the gates of my workplace, there was a sense of uneasiness. I drew a deep breath as I stepped out of my car…
The day was madly busy and insanely tiring. I was busy juggling the variables and the constants of my workday…for I had to be on top of things and I had to make this day work for me.
As I pulled out of the parking lot in the evening, I was still bemoaning the way my day had panned out. The war clouds had been replaced by actual rainclouds and the bleak grey of the sky had only added to my dark mood.
Suddenly, a flicker of white distracted me. It was something that fluttered n the rightmost corner of my field of vision. I realised that a champa or frangipani flower had wedged itself near the base of the windshield wiper.
My first instinct was to stop the car and remove it. But then I thought that perhaps this was a sign…a sign of there being someone in the universe who had looked out for me today and kept me sane and kept the “battle” at bay. And so I let the flower be where it sat on my car bonnet. I spoke to it and told it that if it stayed with me all the way home, it was a harbinger of better days.
There was a fine drizzle that kept the wipers in motion. And I looked at my little friend who was waving her petals about. Would she leave me?
The air currents caused by the vehicles passing me made her flap her petals furiously. But she stayed.
A passing truck splashed water on my car. Surely my little friend would leave me now. But she stayed.
I went through a huge pothole that shook me to the core. But my little friend didnt desert me.
As I stopped at a traffic signal, some kids walking towards the car spotted the flower. I panicked…would they take her away? But just as they came close enough to pluck her off my car, the light turned green and the surge of traffic forced the kids away from my car. Phew!
As I turned into the lane that led to my home, I noticed with some happiness that my little floral friend still sat on my car.
After parking the car, I picked her up from the bonnet and smiled at her. My daughter asked me in askance…I didnt answer her….I just smiled.
And as I write, my little floral friend sits in a bowl of water. She stood by me when it felt like all the odds were stacked against her.
She stood by me through adversity and rough patches.
She told me that no amount of dirty water, bad roads, strong winds or grey skies would convince a friend from abandoning one.
She gladdened my heart when it was tired and aching and feeling low.
Hope does take strange and unexpected shapes and forms!
pictorgraphia 