An unexpected act of kindness
“Beep.”
“Beep-beep.”
“Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep...”
I awoke with a start to the incessant, shrill beeping of my alarm clock. Still groggy from a late night spent working on some powerpoint slides, I reached for my phone and attempted to read the time in the dimness of my room. Should be about eight right now, I thought sleepily. I’ll have about an hour to get to work, just in time for that important meeting at ten this morning. Oh, and I’ll wear my blue shirt and my lucky tie. With all my hard work, AND my lucky tie, I am definitely nailing that deal today...
Still luxuriating in the thought of clinching a million-dollar deal, I finally managed to make out the time on my phone.
It was 9 a.m.
“Holy...!” I shouted. Springing out of bed like a madman, I rushed to the bathroom, blasted the shower, brushed my teeth, put on my shirt and trousers and tie, grabbed my work materials on my table, and was out of the house in 10 minutes flat.
Okay, calm down, I thought to myself. There’s still time. Half-walking, half-running to my car parked in the corner of the HDB carpark, I caught sight of my neighbour walking in the same direction just slightly ahead of me. I wondered fleetingly where his workplace was. This neighbour of mine had always seemed especially aloof. Despite living next to each other for close to 10 years, we had never once spoken at length, and even casual greetings were few and far between. Indeed, his only response to my cheery “good evening” one fine day a long long time ago was a curt nod. How rude, I had thought then.
Well, there’s definitely no time for a chat now, I thought sarcastically. I quickly brushed past him to get to my car, hearing in my mind the incessant ticking of time. I offered some last minute prayers to God, any God. Don’t let me be late, please. Whoever you are. I promise I’ll be good and help the needy and...
Lost in my anxiety as I approached my car, I caught sight of something that made my heart lurch. Stunned, I stood still for a moment, my mind an absolute blank.
My car tyres had been ruthlessly slashed by some vandal in a random act of vandalism.
Despair started to set in. I’ll never get a cab at this hour, I thought to myself. I’ll be late, there goes my deal, and maybe I’ll even get fired. The combination of late nights over the past few weeks, the anxiety of this morning, and the utter randomness of this horrible act of vandalism came together and hit me like a rock. I felt faint.
After what seemed like an eternity, I felt a hand on my shoulder. “You all right?” The gruff voice was strangely familiar. I turned around and found myself staring into the rough, bearded face of my next-door neighbour. Unable to speak, I gestured helplessly at my car and its destroyed tyres.
“Oh. That’s unfortunate,” he remarked calmly. He paused for a moment. Then he said, “Do you have to get to work urgently?”
Glumly, I nodded.
“Here, take my keys. It’s that red Toyota over there.” Holding his car keys out and gesturing towards what seemed to me a gift sent from Heaven, he smiled. “I could take a bus - I’m just usually too lazy.”
Stammering my thanks, I grabbed the car keys and ran. I made it to the office with just barely enough time before the meeting started. The rest, as they say, is history, for I did a brilliant presentation and clinched the deal.
Making my way home that evening, tired but smiling to myself, I thought: I would never have done this without that unexpected act of kindness this morning. Perhaps I shouldn’t have been so quick to judge, I mused. Perhaps he’s really a friendly guy who’s just really reserved.
Well, there’s only one way to find out, I thought. Whistling a light, cheery tune to myself as I pulled into the parking lot in my neighbour’s red Toyota, I fished out the bottle of wine I had picked up on the way home and made my way to my neighbour’s door.
Thoughts:
it was strangely hard to write this narrative. I hadn't written a "story" since I was 16, and I found it really difficult to not sound contrived and juvenile. Nevertheless, it was quite fun. My brother and I shared 'stories' after this exercise (it was really for him), and I felt that some parts of his essay were even better than mine....
*grin* I am humbled. it's not that easy to write a story, after all.
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