A thing of innocence is beauty & joy for ever

How many times we have seen how a small incident can make our day and remain with us throughout the day as a feel-good factor?

Today, it happened with me on my way to work at Kashmere Gate Metro Station.

I travel to Shrestha Vihar (near Ramprasta, Anand Vihar ISBT) to my work from Janakpuri East (I live just across the road from the Janakpuri District Centre). From this month I have been taking the Metro as it cuts down my commuting time by a good seventy-five minutes. So I have to change trains first at Rajiv Chowk from where I take the Yellow Line to Kashmere Gate and from there I take the Red Line to Welcome. Then it’s bus till Ramprasta Crossing from where I walk down to work.

It so happened that while talking the elevator up from the underground at Kashmere Gate around 9:30 in the morning, I saw this girl in her late teens with the sweetest face you would ever see taking the elevator down. Putting her first step, she lost balance slightly, and quickly took the step back. She looked around to see if anyone watched and her eyes met mine.

She smiled at me blushing in embarrassment for being spied nearly tripping and I smiled back, more with my eyes reassuringly, as if to relay that it was ok, we all lose our steps every now and then.

That was the most fabulous natural smile I have seen for a long, long time. It got over in a moment, but made me think of her the whole day and god knows how many times I might have smiled to myself.

Maybe we might meet again; she may not remember me at all, but I shall remember her for a long, long time to come now, really.