A Kindness in the Dark
“Sudhesh.”
“What’s the matter? Why are you ruining my morning sleep?” I murmured, looking at Renu, my wife, who stood by the side of my bed. She is an early riser, disciplined in her daily chores. Her day begins with a cup of tea, and more than half of her work is done before I even leave my bed.
“Kallu isn’t coming today. You’ll need to bring milk from the store.”
“What? How do you know?”
“His younger son came by early this morning to inform us. He said Vijay threatened Kallu, telling him to stop supplying milk to our locality for a few days as punishment for his alleged involvement in watering down the milk.”
“What’s this?” I cursed Vijay under my breath and left for the booth. My friend Ajit was visiting that day after several months, and I wasn’t going to deprive him of a cup of hot coffee, something he was so fond of. He’s my old friend—we graduated from the same college. Later, he pursued law and became a successful lawyer in the city. Although I couldn’t leave my place under such a compulsion, the warmth of our friendship remained unaffected.
Vijay was a terror in our locality. People often took different paths to avoid him. He was the embodiment of all that was evil in the eyes of the community. I hadn’t thought differently about him.
It was a bad start to the day. By evening, a more serious problem gripped the area. A curfew was imposed due to disturbances in our small town. My grandmother, who had been suffering from cardiac complications, suddenly began having trouble breathing in the middle of the night.
After several attempts, the doctor finally picked up the phone and answered irritably, “What’s the emergency?”
“Doctor, it’s about my grandmother. She’s struggling to breathe. I’ve given her your prescribed medicine, but it’s not working.”
After asking several questions, he said, “I’ve texted you the name of a new medicine. Give it to her immediately. Otherwise, it could be fatal.”
I asked Renu to care for my grandmother and rushed out into the darkness of the night toward the only medicine shop in our lane, ignoring the risk of being caught for defying the curfew.
My repeated knocks on the chemist’s door went unanswered. I had never felt so helpless in my life. My grandmother’s life was at stake, and the weight of that realization was unsettling. I prayed to God for mercy and knocked once more, hoping the chemist might hear and open the door, but there was no response. The night was moonless, and I looked up at the sky. My heart sank when I saw that not a single star was twinkling.
Suddenly, Vijay appeared from nowhere. “What’s the matter? Why are you here?” he asked.
I hesitated but then narrated my ordeal to him.
“Okay. Just wait,” he said and knocked vigorously on the chemist’s door.
Fearing the door might come off its hinges, the chemist opened it immediately, muttering that he couldn’t give medicine to anyone in violation of the curfew.
But when he saw Vijay, his tone changed. “Vijay Babu, please forgive me. I’m scared. How can I defy the curfew?”
Vijay shouted at him, “You don’t have a choice. If you don’t act according to what I’ve told you, your life will be hell.”
The chemist didn’t say another word. He simply handed me the medicine and retreated behind the closed door.
Vijay turned to me and said, “Go home and give her the medicine urgently.”
I left for home, overwhelmed by his kindness and filled with gratitude. I had only ever cursed Vijay, but in that moment, he saw my helplessness and rescued me from drowning in the dark waters of self-pity. It stung me that my eyes hadn’t seen the golden rays of light silently traveling through the dark tunnel of my life. His selflessness surprised me so much that I forgot to thank him for his help.
That wasn’t just an ordinary night; it was a night that changed my perception of people. It was a lesson that the greatness of invisible light is often revealed in the darkest of hours.
