Some of Them are Friends Indeed!

Shuba had finished the day's work and was returning home. She worked as a maid in a wealthy household walking distance from the small room she called home. She had a long day and was just about to unlock the door to her humble abode when someone called out to her. 

"Shuba, Shuba, are you there? You have a call." It was her landlady, Radha. Everyone, including Radha, loved and helped simple-natured Shuba. Whenever Radha needed her services, Shuba would do the needful without charging her for it.  

Shuba rushed to Radha's house; Radha seemed excited but did not say anything. As Shuba entered the house and greeted Radha, "quick take the call...you have a call!" said Radha with an urgency in her voice.

Shuba took a step forward, stretching her hand to reach out to the phone, but hesitated and jerked her hand away and stepped back as if the phone had stung her! "But Didi who will call me, I have not given anyone your number as my contact number, and the only people who have this number are the people who I work for, is it the—" Before Shuba could finish, Radha interrupted saying, "its Som, my friend..." When Shuba continued to stare at her blankly, Radha continued, "the agent who is going to find a job for you abroad.

Radha knew Shuba did not earn much, so she let her stay in the small room free of charge. She had also got in touch with an agent she knew well to help Shuba find a job abroad.

Shuba was so nervous; she looked at Radha in appeal as she said, " you talk to him; please, I am scared."

Shaking her head and rolling her eyes, Radha rose from the chair and kept eye contact with Shuba. She took the phone and said, "Hello? yeah, Som, it's me; Shuba is not used to doing this; she is nervous, which is why I came back to talk to you." Radha spoke to Som for a while, noting details as she spoke. 

When she had finished talking, she rushed to Shuba, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "Som has found the best job for you abroad, and you must leave within a week!" Shuba was too shocked to say a word. "we have to get everything ready fast," Radha said. She went into her room and came back dressed to go out. 

"Shuba, will you stay here and wait for my kids to come home from school while I quickly go and take care of this?" Radha said. "I will wait, Didi," Shuba answered. "I should be back within an hour, but just in case I am late, you stay here and open the door for them when they come from school," Radha called out as she put her car in motion. "Ok, Didi," Shuba called after her.

Shuba stood at the door, looking at the fast-disappearing car. "How will I manage with strange people in another country?" she thought to herself. "What language will I speak to them, will they understand me—" The sharp ring tone of the land phone broke into her thoughts. "It's a good thing that someone called. Or else I would be only standing here worrying," she thought as she reached out to answer the phone. 

The caller was Radha's mother."Namaste Ammaji, didi has gone out. Shall I tell her to call you when she comes back?" Shuba asked. "No, it's alright. I just called to check on her. You only tell her that I called." As she put the phone back in its place, "I must find something to do, or else I will waste time in useless thoughts." Shuba thought to herself as she started dusting Radha's house. 

Radha completed all the formalities in record time. She even bought new clothes for Shuba, and before she knew it, Shuba was on a flight to meet her new employers in a foreign country.

A wealthy family had hired Shuba, and they had taken care of everything. Knowing that this was her first trip abroad and she had barely any education, her employers ensured that she was picked up at the airport and taken straight to their home.

It was very early in the morning, and it was still dark as the sun was not up yet. But the city was well lit and cast beautiful shadows that made it a sight to behold. She gasped when she took in the spectacular veiw as the car in which she travelled sped past. "I wish I could ask the driver how much time it would take us to reach our destination," she thought. "But will he know Hindi—" Shuba thought as the car suddenly began to slow down and stop at a gigantic gate. The gates miraculously opened, and the car drove into a massive property. Shuba noticed the uniformed men at the gate as she went past. Soon the car stopped at the entrance of a huge villa. Shuba had never seen such a big house, it was like a palace. "Wow!" Shuba thought to herself, "this is a lot of work. Will I finish cleaning this place up within a day?"

Shuba picked up her small bag as she walked towards the house entrance, but the driver stopped with a loud "shush." Startled, Shuba looked at his face. Much to her relief, the man spoke fluent Hindi. "Not that way, come to this side," he told her. Shyam, the driver, led her on a path to the left side of the palatial house towards the servant's quarters. Shuba was grateful that she had at least one person to talk to.

Shyam showed her to her room and told her, "rest awhile, and one of us will instruct you in all things you need to know about living here and your duties here." Shuba was confused. The servant's quarters looked like they could accommodate a hundred people, and Shyam had said, "one of us will instruct you." "How many people worked here, and who are we working for?" she wondered.

 Shuba quickly freshened up waited for that 'someone' to come and guide her. But no one came for hours. Around 7 am, she heard a gentle knock on her door. She quickly opened her door to see an elderly woman outside. The woman had the sweetest smile. "Have you rested enough, or do you want to rest some more?" the woman asked her. "No, I can start working immediately," Shuba said.

The woman smiled at her as she said, "you will not work today; you must rest, for you are in a new country." Shuba was confused. She never had any rest back home, but she was given ample time to rest here. The woman continued to speak, " I am Anitha, and I will help you get accustomed to this place. But you must come with me for a while, and I will show you around and show you where and when you will get your meals."

Anitha was a superb guide, and Shuba soon got used to the place. She realised that many people were working in that household and she didn't have to clean the house alone. Sweet-natured Shuba found it easy to mingle with the other employees, and her employer also noticed it. At the end of the month, her account was credited with a considerable sum of money, as her remuneration. She had not earned as much even after working for many years.

She sat in bed, thanking God for all that He has done for her and in a gentle voice, she concluded praying, "thank you for Radha, bless her in abundance."

My Thoughts

We live by our rules, and one of them is 'me for myself'. We cannot be bothered to trouble ourselves to help someone to come up in life. Thank God Radha did not think so!