Satisfaction

Hassan’s father was about to return from abroad the next day. It had been three years since Hassan had last seen him. He was over the moon and could hardly wait to see him. He still remembered the tears in his eyes the last time his father was leaving. He was lost deep in his thoughts, overcome by nostalgia, when he was interrupted by the telephone ringing.

As he answered the phone, he found out it was from his football academy. Their team had been selected to participate in the National Football Championship and to top it all, Hassan was going to captain the side. Hassan was absolutely ecstatic as he had always dreamt of becoming a world class player of a game he was obsessed with.

Life just seemed perfect for Hassan. Just about a week ago, he had been elected as the best student of his school, his brother had recovered from a long-standing illness, his father was returning on an unexpected holiday before schedule and now  he had an opportunity to feature in a major football tournament.  Everything was almost too good to believe.

That evening, Hassan went to the academy to attend the first training session for the nationals. Half an hour in and he felt a slight twinge in his hamstring. He had to pull out and later found out he would not be able to take to the field for the next couple of weeks. However, he would just be fit in time for the National Championship. He felt relieved but in a matter of minutes, he was struck by a bombshell when the team manager told him he had been dropped from the squad as they could not gamble on an injured player. Try as he may, Hassan could not persuade the manager to change his decision. All his pleas seemed to fall on deaf ears. Hassan was stunned. “Why me?”,he kept thinking to himself.

Dejected, he left for home. Little did he know what news was waiting for him at home. No sooner had he entered home when his mother informed him of the sudden  cancellation of his father’s holiday. Hassan was almost disbelieving. He had been looking forward to this since the past fortnight and now all the joy he had obtained from anticipating his father’s return had vanished into thin air.

Hassan went to school the next day, still shaken, still disgruntled. They were supposed to have a test which had slipped out of his mind. But being as brilliant a student as he was, this was not going to pose any major problems for Hassan. He sat to take the test and soon became occupied with it. Just a few minutes later, the invigilator started accusing the guy sitting next to Hassan of cheating. Akram vehemently denied cheating and started pleading his innocence. As the invigilator was about to check Akram’s pockets, from the corner of his eyes, Hassan saw a piece of paper land at his feet. As Hassan was staring at it in awe, the invigilator noticed the paper too. For Hassan, it meant proof of Akram’s cheating but he was stunned when the invigilator started accusing him of cheating. In a moment of madness, Hassan lost his temperament and screamed at the teacher. As soon as he stopped, he realized the gravity of the mistake he had committed. He had never lost his head like that. However, it was too late to try and make amends. He was stripped of the best student award, fined heavily and was extremely fortunate to avoid expulsion from the school.

That evening Hassan sat in his room in solitude, pondering over how everything had gone wrong in the past twenty-four hours. He was wondering what he had done wrong for fate to come down so hard on him. He wished he could change everything but the more he thought, the more agony and despair he felt. He decided to go on a walk to lift his spirits. He put some warm clothes on and went outside to be greeted by the freezing winter evening.

He had only walked a little when he saw an old man of about seventy selling candies. He was wearing just a single shirt and trousers,  while he trembled and shivered from the extreme cold. Hassan felt pity for him and as he came close by, offered him some money. The old man promptly and firmly refused, saying he would only take what he earned from selling the candies. For a moment, Hassan was speechless. Filled with admiration, he looked in to the old man’s eyes and saw them glow with satisfaction and contentment. Hassan proceeded to buy a box of candies and continued with his walk, still thinking about the old man.

He had only walked a few steps when he heard the dreadful sound of screeching tyres behind him. He turned around in a flash and rushed towards the scene of the accident. Lying on the road, in a pool of blood, was the same the old man who had sold Hassan the candies. Hassan was thunderstruck. With the assistance of a few other people, he managed to help the old man into a car and rushed him to a hospital where he was immediately admitted into the ICU. After a few extremely nervy moments, the doctor told him they would be able to save the old man’s life but he would be deprived of his legs for the rest of his life.

When the old man regained consciousness, Hassan went up to him and started talking to him. The old man had the same look of happiness on his bright face. It was as if he personified peace and tranquillity. Hassan found out the old man had three children, two of whom had been victims of terrorism and had been killed in a bomb-blast about a month ago. The remaining son, who was the youngest of the three and was the only educated person in the family, had deserted his parents after completing his education and finding a job. He probably did not even know of the death of his brothers. After the death of those two, there was no person in the family to earn a livelihood and so the old man had to sell candies to provide for himself and his wife. Hassan was on the verge of tears. He could not fathom how a son could be so cruel to his parents and hoped God would reform him. At the same time, he hailed the old man’s courage and bravery. He looked at the old man’s  glowing face and marvelled at the greatness of the man. Hassan wanted to help him but he knew the old man was never going to accept any help from him. After exchanging goodbyes, Hassan left.

He felt as if he had been completely transformed. He thought of his past and realized how he had never thanked God for anything. He had always taken stuff for granted, stuff he felt he had a right to having without ever  thinking about where he got everything from. Hassan had never felt more ashamed of himself. He thanked God for making him meet the old man, for the old man had taught him a lesson he was never going to forget. He had learnt that no matter what the conditions, one ought to remain happy and satisfied at all times. Whatever is destined to happen, is meant to happen for the best. Humans can never compete with God’s knowledge and wisdom and so all of God’s decisions must be accepted heartily and thankfully. That day, when Hassan reached home, he found out the plane his father was scheduled to board had had a crash!

         

PS: Are we not all just as unthankful as Hassan?