“You don’t have ego”, said the man. Anu wondered if he meant it the good way or the bad way.

She kept quiet and went into turmoil for sometime. Later though, she concluded on her own, ‘perhaps it a good thing after all.’

When faced with struggles she rarely hesitates to seek help and this has helped, seriously, in different ways and has also bolstered her faith in the collective goodness of humanity.

When at crossroads, she always reached out.

Did some of those to whom she reached out, misunderstand her intentions or her familiarity? Perhaps they did. Who is to tell?

But reach out she does, unabashedly and as easily as she can be reached out to.

The results have been pretty impressive to sort of reinforce in her belief of one humanity-knotted even in separation.

A friend who finds time to listen, to ask a few pertinent questions and promises to check on her a week later, now, if that is not a gift worth having, what is?

A student who reaches out to ask, ‘all good mam’, ‘let me know if you need help’, really! this world is so good already.

‘Write’, said another, ‘just write I will read, if no one else’ and she laughed out loudly.

‘Looks like you need a break, care to join me to watch a contemporary dance performance?’

‘Here, let me help you do this, ah! you are not that bad are you!’.

‘Care to talk for sometime’, ‘let me get you a coffee’.

‘So, I know your work, don’t I’, ‘Will set that right’.

‘So you look radiant, what have you done to yourself recently’.

‘Ok, ma, just relax, you can do it. It is just a matter of figuring it out’

‘You are one strong girl aren’t you, if anyone says it differently, give my number, I will have a talk and I mean it’

‘Lazy, you!!!! goodness, whoever said that’

‘Go, take a break. Try a trip. Indulge yourself and you know what your mind is just going to flourish again, you will bounce back girl’.

‘When I tell you good things, you don’t listen, if anyone else says, its a big thing for you, hun…”

Kind souls, kinder words, spending time and effort to cheer someone up.

Sometimes the world overwhelms her with its kindness and she does embarrass me with her over eager, over enthusiastic self, over animated face, but tell me if 2021 doesn’t look beautiful already!