Relationships : The memorable smile

Miss Anonymous

Kathmandu:

Like my other ordinary holidays, I was returning home from my dance class and was waiting for public transportation. I was already quite late for lunch that day and in a great deal of hurry. After waiting for about 15 minutes, a microbus finally showed up. The bus had hardly any space for me but I had to squeeze myself inside as I had no other alternative. But after sometime, the bus had just enough space for one more person to squeeze in. Suddenly, the driver applied the brakes and a woman with a two-year-old child got in. Fortunately, she could adjust herself in the small space but it was too congested for her son even to sit on her lap. She looked quite puzzled for sometime, so I decided to lend her a helping hand. I asked her if her son could sit on my lap and she happily agreed. The small boy was so quiet and innocent.

Along the busy and crowded streets of Kathmandu, the driver continued to apply sudden brakes and make quick turns, so I held the child tightly preventing him from falling off. He sat so comfortably even on a stranger’s lap and looked around with twinkling eyes. His eyes were busy throughout the journey wandering around and observing the world around him. I’m sure he didn’t miss any of the cars and houses that we came across on the way. We could easily make out how peaceful he was since he was free from all the responsibilities, duties and problems that rested with the rest of us in the bus. Our short journey together soon came to an end. His mother told him to get down. I was busy trying to take a look at his face but couldn’t succeed. Later when the bus was about to restart, my eyes stopped wandering when both of us saw each other and I realised that even the boy had been curiously searching for me. He slowly gave me a warm and sweet smile that clearly expressed his gratitude towards me.

I was so delighted and joyful to receive his wonderful and wholehearted smile. His peaceful and smiling face got dimmer as the bus moved forward leaving him behind. There couldn’t be a better thank-you for me than his meaningful and genuine smile. Though our journey was very short, it would give me lovely memories of the sweet kid to cherish, especially, his smile that touched my heart and said more than words and proved to be “The Memorable Smile” for me, indeed.