Although the incident described below is real, it happened in 2013. But the restaurant bill mentioned in the end is fake, as clarified by Akhilesh Kumar, the Dubai-based engineer whose experience is recounted below. Read his interview about the incident here.
Here’s a story worth sharing. Facebook post that was originally written in Malayalam caught the attention of many. Amid the chaos of man-killing-man for reasons that vary, this much-needed gesture of paying-it-forward is assured to give you hope and spread happiness.
Read the translated story below:
Our protagonist, let’s call him Mr H, was in Kerala’s Malapurram for a business meeting. He spent the day chatting up with similarly business minded commercial men who resembled droids more than humans.
Tired, he decided to spend the night in the city. He rented a room and set out to find himself a sumptuous meal in the town known for its amazing culinary variety. He was really hungry as he walked into a nearby hotel and quickly placed his order. As his hot meal arrived on his table, he could barely contain himself, but at that very moment he saw them...
... a pair of small eyes, peeping through the glass panes, looking at all the food being served and the people savouring them.
These eyes belonged to a street urchin. His hunger betrayed his young eyes but the diners were just too busy to notice him or his plight.
Mr H felt a deep pang in his heart. He called the little guy in. He was not alone, his little sister was also by his side. Their eyes betrayed them again. Their gaze was transfixed at only the food and not the person who beckoned them.
Mr H asked them, what they wanted to order. But those young eyes didn’t need a menu - they just pointed to his plate. The food arrived promptly.
The little boy tried to dive right in but his sister stopped him. Her eyes told him something that he understood and they rose up to wash their hands before the meal. They returned and finished the meal. They didn’t speak, laugh or make a fuss. After finishing their meal, they rose up again, washed their hands and left.
Mr H had not touched his food till then. He found that his hunger was sated, he felt a rare feeling of fulfilment.
He finished his meal and called for the bill. When he returned after washing his hands, he found the bill on the table. One look at it and a tear – one that was hidden somewhere by his conscience – left his eyes and dropped gently onto it. He looked at the man at the counter and smiled. The smile was reciprocated by an even bigger one. As he walked back to his room, he felt like he was better person, he felt as if he was more than a machine. He felt human!
The note on the bill read, We do not have a machine that can bill humanity. Godspeed!
You can read the original post in Malayalam here.
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