A Slice of Life
By Rafiq Ebrahim
Glendale Heights, IL
I was at the register at my convenient store some time back. It was unusually busy that day. One of the employees had quit, another had called in sick and I was left with only one, an aged person who could barely lift a package. The store seemed to be in a mess, badly needing cleanup. There was a long line of customers waiting for their turn. At the end of the line, I saw a shabby guy, disheveled and looking ill-nourished. He had to wait quite some time before he came up to me. “I don’t want to buy anything,” he said. “Just let me work here for a few hours.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. “We don’t allow just any stranger to work.”
“I know that, sir, but I haven’t taken any food since yesterday. A few hours’ work would enable me to eat.”
I thought for a while, took out ten dollars from the register and offered him the same.
He shook his head.” I never take anything for free. My dad always used to say, ‘Take nothing for free’. I am jobless, a bum you may say, but dad’s saying gives me self-respect. I assure you that my work would be appreciated by you.”
This was a strange request, but looking at his appearance and also because I was short of help, I said, “All right, start bringing in some boxes from the store room behind, open them and put the items on the racks assigned for them.”
As an afterthought, I said, “Here take some money in advance, buy and eat some food before you start work.”
He refused. “No sir, I’ll do the work first and then eat.”
It was an amazing experience for me.
He rolled up his sleeves, went to the storeroom and brought out a few boxes. He began working on them. I kept an eye on him. He was working like a machine, almost mechanically cleaning the items and placing them in their proper places. I also noticed that there was something unusual about how he looked. There was some brightness on his countenance despite his shabby appearance.
Completing this task, he looked at other aisles and began putting the items in their respective places. Soon the store looked neat and clean.
He worked for three and a half hours, before he literally bent over due to hunger. I gave him thirty-five dollars and asked him to get any food items from the store. He grabbed two large sandwiches and insisted on paying. When he satisfied his hunger, he gave a hearty smile and thanked me.
I got ringing for a customer and a thought came to me. Why not hire him? It is not easy to get such a zestful person. I looked up but he was gone. I left my register and went out looking for him. He was nowhere in sight and simply disappeared.
I heaved a sigh and came back.I saw a small brown greasy envelope near my register. I opened it. There was a slip of a paper on which was written, ‘God bless you. I will not be seen again.’ At the end of the message was a symbol I could not decipher – not till today.
That left me wondering for a long time.
- rafiq.ebrahim@gmail.com
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