O Stories

Burned Biscuits When I was a little child, at times my mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. And I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast food at dinner time after a long, hard day at work. On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burned biscuits in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet, all my dad did was reach for his biscuit, smile at my mom and ask me how my day was at school. I don’t remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that burnt biscuit and eat every bite! When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my mom apologise to my dad for burning the biscuits. And I’ll never forget what he said: “Baby, I love burned biscuits.” Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his biscuits burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, “Y...

Price of miracle TESS was eight when she heard her parents talking about her little brother, Andrew. All she knew was that he was very sick and they were poor. Only a very costly surgery could save him now and it was looking like there was no-one to loan them the money. She heard Daddy whisper in desperation, “Only a miracle can save him now.” Tess went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from the closet. She poured all the change out on the floor and counted it carefully.She then slipped out the back door and made her way to Rexall’s Drug Store. She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention but he was too busy at this moment. Finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. “And what do you want?” the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice. “I’m talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven’t seen in ages,” he said without waiting for a reply to his  question.  “Well, I want to tal...

The last cab ride Twenty years ago, I drove a cab for a living. One time I arrived in the middle of the night for a pick up at a building that was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window. Under these circumstances, many drivers would honk once or twice, then drive away. But I had seen too many impoverished people who depended on taxis as their only means of transportation. Unless a situation smelled of danger, I always went to the door. I walked to the door and knocked. After a long  pause, the door opened. A small woman  in her   80’s  stood before me. She was wearing a print dress. By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All furniture was covered. There were no utensils on the counters. I took the suitcase to the cab, and then returned to assist the woman. She took my arm. She kept thanking me for my kindness. “It’s nothing,” I told her. “I just try to treat m...

A bridge or a fence Once Upon a time two brothers, who lived on adjoining farms, fell into conflict. It was the first serious rift in 40 years of farming side by side, sharing machinery, and trading labour and goods as needed without a conflict. Then the long collaboration fell apart. It began with a small misunderstanding and it grew into a major difference, and finally it exploded into an exchange of bitter words followed by weeks of silence. One morning there was a knock on the older brother’s door. He opened it to find a man with a carpenter’s tool box. “I’m looking for a few days’ work.” – he said. “Perhaps you would have a few small jobs here and there I could help with?” “Yes.” – said the older brother. “I do have a job for you. Look across the creek at that farm. That’s my neighbour; in fact, it’s my younger brother. Last week there was a meadow between us and he took his bulldozer to the river levee and now there is a creek between us. Well, he m...

A  bowl of noodles That Night Sue quarrelled with her mother, then stormed out of the house. While en route, she remembered that she did not have any money in her pocket, she did not even have enough coins to make a phone call home. At the same time, she went through a noodle shop, picking up sweet fragrance, she suddenly felt very hungry. She wished for a bowl of noodles, but she had no money! The seller saw her standing as she faltered before the counter and asked: “Hey little girl, you want to eat a bowl?” “Yes, but … but I do not carry money …” she shyly replied. “Okay, I’ll treat you,” the seller said, “Come in, I will cook you a bowl.” A few minutes later the owner brought her a steaming bowl of noodles. Eating the delicious noodles, Sue cried. “What is it?” he asked. “Nothing. I am just touched by your kindness!” Sue said as she wiped her tears. “Even a stranger on the street gives me a bowl of noodles, and my mother, after a quarrel, chased me ...

Poor Boy and The Dog A few days ago I landed at the Mumbai airport and took a cab to South Bombay. I was enjoying the busy traffic with people rushing in every possible directions then we got stranded at a very busy intersection. As we waited for the signal to turn green, my eyes met with a poor young boy, about 12 years old. He removed a piece of bread from his pocket and took a bite. As he was about to take his next bite, a stray dog wagged his tail looking at him. Without hesitation, he sat down and put the bread on the road for the dog to eat. The dog sniffed the bread and walked away. The boy waited until he was sure the dog was gone then he picked up the bread and ate it! My heart cried and wanted to walk up to the boy but before I could open the door the signal turned green and our car drove away. I kept thinking about the boy and later during my evening meal I realized that I was thinking of approaching the boy but never did, I could have sto...

        Somebody’s children John and Mary had a nice home and two lovely children, a boy and a girl. John had a good job and had just been asked to go on a business trip to another city and would be gone for several days. It was decided that Mary would go along too.  They hired a reliable woman to care for the children and made the trip, returning home a little earlier than they had planned.  As they drove home, they noticed smoke,  and  they went off their usual route to see what it was. They found a home in flames.  Mary said, "Oh well it isn't our fire, let's go home."  But John drove closer and exclaimed, "That home belongs to Fred Jones who works at the plant. He wouldn't be off work yet, maybe there is something we could do." "You have your good clothes on lets not get any closer,” said Mary. But John drove up and stopped and they were both horror stricken to see the whole hou...