My car stops at the signal. I curse the traffic as I wait for the signal to turn green. I'm in a hurry to reach home. I'm not driving but sitting at the back. I hear a knock at the driver-side window. A tiny hand goes up and down in rhythm. I can't see who it is that is knocking so I crane to have a better look. I see a flower-girl carrying a small basket of roses. When she sees me, she runs around and comes over to my side. She picks a beautiful red rose from the basket and offers it to me. I ask, how much? She says, 5 Rs. I give her 10 Rs. So she asks, you want two or should I give 5 Rs. back? I'm about to say two but change my mind. Instead, I tell her to keep the balance 5 and ask her to eat something. She tilts her head and smiles. It is the most beautiful smile that I've ever seen. It melts my heart and I wish that the signal remains red so I could ask her about her family. But she waves and scurries off.
From thereon, it becomes a routine for me. I actually wait for her to come and give me a rose everyday. It brings back the energy in me. This goes on for several days and one fine day she doesn't turn up at the signal. I get restless so I enquire about this little flower-girl. It seems she has no real family living here. A married couple bought flowers from her regularly. Like me, they were quite fond of this little girl. Since they had no children of their own, yesterday they had come and adopted her.
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