The Encounter

Written by Sakshi Singhal

I was staring at the black billboard, when a knock on the car window distracted me. Her begging eyes appealed to me. The shabby outfit confirmed my thoughts for her. Her hair was unintentionally accessorized by the garbage bits, which she must have got on while scrounging in the trash. A dusty black thread adored her neck, perhaps supposedly made to do so to ward off evil by a caring mother. The slipper on the left feet was missing its strap.

The tied beads on the wrist must have been the result of someone’s pity or the disinterest of a well-off girl would have got her such a luxury. Her melancholic words revealed her parched throat. Her empty stomach echoed her helpless begging. My 10-rupee note grew wings of pity & it flew from my wallet to her half-torn pocket. Her red sleepless eyes brimmed with contentment. The signal turned green and the car speeded away. This one-minute encounter touched my heart.

“The little girl exemplified the stories of a thousand withered flowers ……”