Reorienting

What daily habit do you do that improves your quality of life?

The night was turning cold. The day was coming to an end for many. The number of people and vehicles on the road had drastically reduced. The ashen glow of diminished fire could be seen, it came to life every day evening in the form of warmth for people outside.



A bike rushed through the roads. It was the delivery bike of a food delivery company. The bike stopped in front of an apartment tower. The rider pushed up the visor of the helmet to tell his own name, number of the bike as well as the purpose of coming, to the security guard.



The security guard allowed Soham to ride in. Soham parked his bike at a small parking space near the building entrance. There were two more two-wheelers there.



Soham opened the food carrier box and took out the food neatly packed in a cloth bag. Then he headed for the building’s entrance, inside a lady sat on the reception desk. She clearly looked like she was not willingly doing the work.



‘Maybe it’s working late which bothers her. If I had the option I wouldn’t work at this hour,’ Soham thought as he approached the lady



“I am here to deliver food to flat number 44,” Soham said



The receptionist who was busy playing a game on her smartphone did not look up but she responded, “go ahead, 7th floor.” Soham didn’t give it much thought and walked towards the elevator following the elevator sign.



The call button of the elevator was pressed and Soham waited for the elevator. But it didn’t look like it was moving from the fifth floor.



‘Someone might be holding it for another person to get on,’ Soham thought, but as more time passed it became apparent the elevator wasn’t coming down.



Soham walked back to the receptionist; she was done with playing games and was now scrolling through reels whose sounds could be heard.



“Excuse me, is something wrong with the elevator?” Soham asked



The receptionist looked up, “Oh yes, it’s not working”



Soham smiled, “..and you couldn’t have told me that before”



“You didn’t tell me that you wanted to take the elevator,” the receptionist replied with a made-up smile of her own



Soham thought further argument on the topic would lead to nothing, “so, there is no other elevator here?”



“There is one at the back”



Soham started walking towards the second elevator without any further response, when the lady spoke again, “but it is for residents only”



Soham once again displayed a made-up smile, “Ma’am, unless you can get this food delivered, can you kindly tell me a way to complete my delivery?”



“Well take the staircase if you can climb to the seventh floors that is,” said the lady before becoming busy with her phone again



Soham gave it a thought. If he had to climb those stairs a year back from now, he would have certainly experienced a lot of difficulty.



A year back when Soham found himself climbing stairs, he found out how important being in good health was. Running out of breath was one thing, but he could feel his heart beating beyond what he had ever felt and his vision was blurring along with the sweat which heavily appeared.



Soham realised something, if he wanted a better life or even a longer one, then it was of vital importance that he put himself back in shape, not only for himself but also for his family who depended upon him. Following an exercise routine had changed his life in many ways, now he was able to work more and dream farther. Maybe he would open an eating joint of his own one day, and little by little life became better.



Soham opened the doors to the staircase, and stood at the first stair and then he smiled and began his climb.

Written by Anuran Chatterji

Hey, Connect with Us:)

• WordPress
• Instagram
• LinkedIn