The Coin Boy

It was a normal day. The sun as usual was in highest of it’s spirits. The melting power of the sun was getting stronger with each passing second. The heat was tearing the skin apart. The traffic was unending and the vehicles made sure they didn't miss a second adding to that humongous noise pollution. There was a chaos in the market and I was agoged seeing the crowd. The burning heat had NO VISIBLE effect.

Meanwhile all this hustle and bustle , I saw a lad with the least possible cloth on his 500 gms of body, bare foot, running from one person to the another , "de do bhaiya, bhuk lagi hai" (Give me some money, I'm Hungry). He was merely entertained by anyone and even who did, were not able to satisfy him. There was not even a squintilla of happiness in his expressions. I could hardly find any curvy line on his tanned shrunken face. His small hands were not able to accommodate his earning. As a result, two of the coins fell from his pocket. He couldn’t bend down, there were more coins in his hands that needed his attention. He stood there, thinking of what to do next.

And just then entered the hero of the story, little ravenous bearing the "GAP” tag on his t-shirt and wearing a Nike cap. His Sketcher shoes completed his "Richie Rich" look. He bent down, took the coins and pushed it in the half-tore pockets.

I could see two completely different worlds . . . together.

They moved apart. As he was getting in his cool comfortable black Mercedes, he looked back. The coin boy was still standing there, drops of sweat travelling down till his navel. The sun still above his head, trying to suck the left over in his body.

Richie rich got in. the a/c automatically vaporized the sweat. As the temp dipped down and he felt cold, he let out a warm smile to the coin boy. The boy, holding the coins tightly , replied back with a curve. A curve that joined two different worlds, two completely different worlds.