The Witty Stride

Somewhere in Bhubaneswar

The morning is beautiful. The sun sheds its rays upon the eagerly waiting mountains, clouds, and humans. The early risers greet the sunrise with yoga, jogging, and other forms of exercise.

Sneha, a student in class 5, is sleeping after snoozing the alarm three times. She will miss the bus when the time comes. Her mother, a renowned doctor, is hastily preparing her tiffin box and trying to wake her. After a scolding, Sneha awoke from a deep sleep and got ready for school. She is the only child in the Mishra family, which makes her the pampered princess of the household. She demands a great deal from her parents. She has been eating Lays chips since childhood and is madly in love with them. She takes Lays for breakfast, lunch, and evening snacks. Her parents won’t refuse her demands as she’s been an adorable kid from the beginning.

After missing the bus, Sneha walked down the streets to reach school. The school is a few hundred meters from her home, so the bus is optional. But she has to cross a shady neighborhood in between. There, dirty roads stretch out. Beggars and the poor gather to pray for money. On her way to school, she notices these people. She always avoids them. Her parents have taught her to do this. Besides, she hates the smell of beggars, as it is not a pleasant aesthetic.

In the neighborhood, a small girl named Amina always begs people for money or food. As an orphan girl with nowhere to go, she has taken shelter in the slums. Another older adult, a homeless beggar abandoned by their children, had found a new home.

Every evening after school, Sneha buys a packet of Lays to munch on when she returns home. Amina always stares at Sneha with hunger and jealousy. The older man thinks of his grandchild, the same age as Sneha, and recalls the past with nostalgia.

A few weeks later

One Friday evening, Sneha was returning from school with her usual bag of Lay’s chips in hand. Heavy bags weighed down her shoulders. The girl was going a little farther. She was entering the shabby neighborhood.

Suddenly, a splash of Wind came out of nowhere. It blew a heavy dust mist. The Lays packet from her hand fell. Sneha saw the packet drifting in the Wind. As she decided to run after it, she saw two people already hunting the Lays. A poor girl wore worn clothes. An older man, in his waning health, was also running to grab the Lays. She was alarmed and frightened; she ran back home. She stayed back a little to see what was happening. Upon reaching home, she explained everything to her mother.

After a few weeks of starvation, the older man was blinded by shame. Less money from begging left him hopeless. He was eating from the dustbin. Amina, being famished, would eat anything then. The Lays packet was the symbol of hope for both to survive. The strong wind was enough to set off a chain of events that would satisfy the hunger.

Neither of the starving people was quick enough to grab the Lays packet. A street dog appeared from nowhere and snatched it from their grasping hands.

Back Home

After listening to everything their daughter had to say, the parents explained life to the kid. It’s not about the sunshine or heyday for everybody. Every day, many homeless and poor people face a struggle for survival. It’s about striving to bring out the best in everyone, to foster a more harmonious world. The adults talked over Sneha’s head like a bouncer. She only understood that Lay’s was a thing; she got it whenever she wanted. But the older man and the little girl ran for a few chips left on that packet! She understood the deeper meaning of life at a young age. She was no longer frightened as she became emotionally mature.

The next day, she brought a few extra Lay’s chips, chocolates, and pastries to school. Upon arriving in the shabby neighborhood, she discovered the old man and the little girl sitting at the street corner. The people she had initially disdained now seemed like those with whom she felt a deep connection. It is the love for the Lays! She went to the girl and gave her the food. And did the same with the old man. Amina and the older adult were sobbing, feeling that an emotional chord had been touched. They sensed the presence of an unexpected angel with a gold heart. They wanted to embrace Sneha, but, fearing that her school uniform would get dirty, they refrained. Amina had found an elder sister, and the old man remembered the granddaughter he had lost touch with. After eating, Sneha proudly returned home with her Lays packet and the school bag on her shoulders.

She was no longer frightened to go through the shabby neighborhood, as two friends lived there.