A balloon girl

There I was waiting at the end of a lane for my car when I spotted her ... Balloons in hand !! She must have been just over 10 years old but had the presence of a girl much older. Kohl rimmed eyes and Paan in her mouth made her attempt to look older much more conspicuous . I asked her for two balloons that were shaped in the form of "Winnie the Pooh ". She quoted a price I knew was far more than what it should have been . I asked  her to bring it down . She gave me a look of cold contempt that showed her bitterness towards the " have " sections of society ( the " have nots " was all that she grew up in ).  I ended up buying the two balloons and paid her the cash . As I waited for my car , bags and now the added two balloons in hand I noticed her still standing besides me , now  leaning on a parked two wheeler by the road . She kept looking at me with humour as if trying to gauge what it must be to live a life different from her's ( or was she just observing me with those expressive eyes !) 

I turned to look at her and gave her a faint smile . She didn't return the same . It struck me  what must be it like to be a child and not enjoy the joys of childhood . Here was a child selling balloons that she must rarely have herself played with as it was her means of livelihood . Maybe she had a parent or two,  who counted her balloons before she left for the day and took in all the money of her sale for the day .

I rummaged through my handbag while balancing the bags ( and the balloons ) in my hand and found a 50 rupee note . I called her over and gave it to her . " Go buy yourself whatever you want today .. Something to eat or anything you want " ... The child in her suddenly came to life and I saw the gleam in her eyes . The smile lit her eyes before it came out slowly on her lips as she guaged the full meaning of what I meant . The fifty rupees was all her's to keep !!! And then she stumped me !!!! She did something that I did not expect out of her , much less think of it as a lesson for me . She taught me the true meaning of kindness and generosity !!! She asked me to choose two more balloons from her lot and wouldn't hear a " no " for an answer . She was very insistent and the child in her goaded me until I finally relented and picked the smallest two from her lot .Then she stood there by my side like a guardian angel and kept looking out for my car enquiring whether each passing car was mine . 

This little girl was the child once again that she was meant to be . As I sat in my car and my car started to move , I turned back to see her radiant face slowly getting lost in the growing traffic but the smile on her face would haunt me for days at stretch .

I learnt the biggest lesson in generosity that day .. I (who has multiples of fifty rupees ..atleast in my bank)  had actually debated in my mind once ,before handing her just one single note( how shallow of me !! ) ... And she ,who had just a handful of balloons  , give me two extra ones from the limited lot .

Next time you see someone selling balloons .. Look at the person behind the seller .. Sometimes they are meant to teach you bigger lessons in life than any college can ever teach you .

P.S. I have two happy Poohs dancing at home with two extra balloons !!!