She called out to the man on the street but he didn’t hear her. It was too obvious that the man was unaware of where he was. He was too engrossed in his own thought. Many things were happening to him at a time and he needed to sort out the mess he was in and get out of it.
Five years ago, he was the most sorted out person in his profession and he had a very fulfilling life. He had his parents living with his wife and two lovely kids. Then, one day his mother died in the hospital of a tumor they were not aware of. She had hidden it from the rest. The doctor told him and the rest of the member about her wish of not letting the family know about aliment and how he had kept his promise till her dying days. Knowing that his mother had suffered all alone, his father could not bear the guilt of not helping his soul mate and he followed her to the heavenly bliss to be with his beloved.
Life was never same after that. It seemed that the happiness had left their doorstep after the demise of his parents. One problem cropped after another in his life. He failed to keep up with his assignments at work and his domestic life was falling apart. His wife found fault in everything he did and he took drinking which added fuel to fire. He was at the verge of loosing his job and thinking of how to overcome the problem he was in when he felt that someone was calling him. He did not bother to respond and walked on. But the woman called again. He looked back and saw an elderly woman walking towards him. He did not recognize her but the woman called him by name. His mind was vigorously recollecting where he might have seen her but his memory failed. Her smile made him uncomfortable but he followed her when she led him to the nearby restaurant. After some time, when he asked her who she was, she burst out laughing… He was completely baffled. Here he was sitting with a stranger who was offering him coffee while his mind was in turmoil. After she had done with her laughing she introduced herself… She was his teacher when he was in elementary school. It was a great relief to learn that but he was still wondering how she remembered him after all those years. She did not tell him and he dare not ask her. She said that she worked as a volunteer and helped those people in need. She asked him how things were and he poured out his entire tale. She listened patiently and he was relieved that he could share his problems to someone whom he could trust. Talking to her made him feel lighter…his burden was lessen and he had someone with whom he could share his problems. She promised to meet him after a week at the same place. That evening, he tried his first smile after five years. It felt awkward but he managed a smile when he got home. His wife noticed that too.
After that his life took a new course. He always looked forward to meeting his savior. She made him realize the importance of defining ones priorities to lead a successful and fulfilling life. He slowly gave up his drinking habits. There were no more quarrels at home. He was thankful to the two women in his life, his teacher and his wife for saving him from ruining his life. (He did not know that his wife had sent for his teacher to help him out, He came to know about that after many months when he invited his teacher home for dinner)
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