An Act Of Kindness

Disclaimer - This story is a pure fictional work and is not based on any real-life character or event. However, if any similarities found is purely coincidental and unintentional.

Golu was a delivery boy working for a courier service company. Recently he had finished high school. As he hailed from a lower-middle-class family, he needed to work to contribute to the family expense. As for the graduation course, Golu got himself admitted to the night college. Because during the day he was busy delivering packages. Knowing the importance of higher education Golu knew whatever the struggle might be for him but he must not let work pressure divert him away from studies.

During the course of delivering packages, Golu got to know one senior citizen couple. This couple had a regular supply of courier packages which were mostly sent by their working son Sidharth. Sidharth had after completing his Engineering degree followed by an MBA was working with an e-commerce startup. Sidharth had to shift to the metropolis where his company was situated. Every week or fortnight he used to send various goodies to his elderly parents and the duty of delivering it would fall upon Golu. So a bond grew between them. Off and on Sidharth use to chat with Golu on the mobile. In fact, Sidharth used to update himself over his parents' health through Golu. As both, the parents were diabetic so Sidharth had to keep a regular check over their health. As a result, Golu had become a very reliable source of help.

On one occasion Sidharth 's father had complications developed over his health and had to be admitted to the hospital. Sidharth being very stretched over his work schedule, so Golu stepped in and managed the show for Sidharth. Only when his father got discharged did Sidharth manage to come home to manage the affairs. The full situation was so perfectly managed by Golu as if someone from his own family was hospitalized. All this despite Golu being super busy with his work and studies and also managing his own home. Sidharth and his parents were very grateful to Golu for this act of kindness. For Golu it was a part of his duty. But Sidharth was more than grateful and wanted to be of some help whenever the situation arose.

Sidharth was making rapid progress in his career and in a very short time, he was elevated to the board of his startup company and became a part-owner. Time and again Sidharth wanted to know the progress Golu made in his job life. Sidharth made discreet enquiries from Golu obliquely without sounding too intrusive lest he offends him. Because Sidharth genuinely wanted to help Golu and the help would be in such a way that would help Golu progress in his job or career. There were good openings for delivery boys in Sidharth 's e-commerce company and Sidharth wanted that Golu should come and join. But that meant Golu had to leave his family behind and shift base. Golu had recently married also and to manage household expenses better had inducted his brother in his company as a delivery boy, the job he had been doing so long.

So Sidharth had a tricky situation on hand. But he genuinely wanted to repay the act of kindness of Golu. Because the pay Golu would now draw by joining his company would have a substantial bearing on his overall financial condition. So Sidharth wanted that Golu with this job should move up in life. Wealth can bring real feel-good condition in a person's life. Poverty is truly a frustrating situation. So Sidharth knew that Golu to work here need a good cheap place to stay so he could bring his wife.

All arrangements made Sidharth told Golu to come over. The offer although tempting, Golu had doubts over its execution from his end. But he knew he had to take the gamble to move up in life. Also, Golu was so much grateful to Sidharth for giving a lifetime of opportunity.

So Golu moved to the city along with wife and his brother took over the job of caring for Sidharth 's parents alongside managing his job.

It took some time for Golu to get accustomed to the city life. He had to get familiar with the geography of the area in order to successfully deliver the couriers. But as our elders say that good karma follows one wherever one goes. So probably the good deeds of Golu were being rewarded in a different manner. The startup company in which Sidharth and Golu were working was doing extremely well and recently had generated a lot of interest among foreign portfolio investors. Their company was very attractively valued and two wealthy foreign funds took up a considerable stake in it. All the employees according to their hierarchy and protocol were offered a stake in the company by giving them employee stock options pro-rata wise. All the options were dollar-denominated.

Sidharth was very happy for Golu. Because he knew that within a few years as their company's valuation rose the employees who cashed these stock options would get rich values. And more Sidharth thought the more he felt happy for Golu as how his financial status would change. It was now a reality because after the lock-in period for these stock options ended the employees were offloading their holding in the market and yielding cash in bucket loads. Because they were offloading financial instruments denominated in dollars which they were converting to get rupees.

They had all become rupee millionaires. Golu had also benefited from these developments. He was now rich and his family back there was also wealthy now. Sidharth felt very satisfied as he was able to repay 'An act of kindness'.