Short Story From India: A Bracelet

It was the monsoon season. The entire day, it was raining heavily. A 34-year-old Sanjay was passing by a highway in his car. And suddenly the car broke down. He tried hard enough but the car didn’t start.

Later he tried booking a cab. Due to a low battery, within a few seconds, his phone switched off. Now he tried stopping taxis but no one stopped.

Finally, one taxi stopped next to him. Sanjay said – “Can you drop me off at Villa Town, Mahalaxmi?”

The driver replied – “Yes.” And Sanjay sat inside the taxi and the driver started the car.

After a few minutes, the taxi driver’s phone rings. It was his wife’s call. He picked up the call.

Taxi driver – Hello?

Wife – Hello. You haven’t come home yet. It’s raining heavily outside.

Taxi driver – I am dropping one passenger at Mahalaxmi. In the next 40-50 minutes, I will reach home. You & Vivek have food. I will be late so don’t wait for me.

Wife – Ok. Drive safely.

Taxi driver – Ya. And what about Vivek’s interview? Did he get selected for the job?

Wife – No. He tried his best. Let’s hope he gets the job early.

Taxi driver – He already gave interviews to 9-10 companies. But things are not working in his favor. He is getting demotivated now. We have home loan EMIs to pay, my parents’ health-related expenses & our daily expenses are also increasing. Handling all of this in my earnings is getting tough now.

Wife – Don’t worry. Things will be alright soon.

Taxi driver – Hope so. Ok. I will call you later. (He cuts the call)

He continues driving. After 5 minutes, Sanjay asks the taxi driver’s phone. He told him my phone is switched off due to a low battery. So, I need to make a phone call to my wife. The taxi driver agreed & gave his phone to him.

Sanjay calls & informs his wife that his car broke down midway. Now he is reaching home via taxi. He is safe & no need to worry. Once he cuts the call, he hands over the phone to the taxi driver & says Thanks.

After 10 minutes, they reached Mahalaxmi & the taxi driver dropped Sanjay off at his home. Sanjay paid via cash & he gave the driver twice the fare amount as a gesture of thanks.

The taxi driver refused & accepted only the exact fare amount. Sanjay likes that gesture, says thanks, gets out of the taxi & walks inside the big villa. The taxi driver notices this, starts the taxi & reaches home.

That night, when Sanjay was going to bed, he noticed his hand bracelet was missing. He gets worried. It was dear to him as it was his father’s bracelet. His father is no more now. To remember his father & love for him, Sanjay used to wear it every day.

The next morning, the taxi driver was cleaning his taxi. And he found the gold bracelet on the downside of the backseat. He remembers that he noticed the bracelet in Sanjay’s hand.

When the taxi driver started his day, he first went to hand over the bracelet to Sanjay. He reached Sanjay’s villa & requested the security guard to call Sanjay. He came & the driver handed over the bracelet to him. Seeing it, Sanjay gets emotional.

He thanked the driver a lot. And asks him to give him one opportunity to help him in any way. The driver says no this time as well. He invites him inside his house. The driver thanks him for that & says he needs to go. And he left.

That day, by afternoon, the taxi driver received a phone call from an unknown number. He picked up the call & a woman from the other side said – “Hello, sir. I am Megha from SR Group. Can you please share your son’s contact number? Currently, we have a job vacancy in our company.”

The taxi driver replied yes & gave his son’s contact number to her. He thought for a few seconds about how she got his number. But he was like Let it be.

The next day after this incident, the taxi driver’s son got a job at the SR Group company. Their family was so happy with this great news.

After a few weeks, one fine day, the taxi driver dropped his son off at his office. He parked his taxi in front of the office & his son stepped out of the taxi. By this time, he notices Sanjay coming out of the luxury car & three assistants around him. Later he entered the SR Group office.

He asked his son, “You know who he (Sanjay) is?” His son replied – “Dad, he is the owner of our company. His name is Sanjay Rathore. He is a very kind person.”

Now, he realizes, Sanjay helped my son get a job in his company. He was happy.

Also Read – The Short Story: Need Vs Greed