June's Evening
June loved cycling. In the evenings , whenever she did not have her tuitions, she took her cycle out of the garage, dusted it and set out. She spent most of her spare evenings like that. Sometimes she took Sooji, her one year old Golden Retriever with her, and as she cycled, Sooji ran alongside her. Though she was a happy and jolly soul, June had one disability: she could not speak.
On one such evening, when June and Sooji were enjoying the evening sun, they took a new route; June hadn't been there before. The street was nice - trees on both sides at frequent intervals, flower bushels, nicely coloured houses, and after a few turns she reached a ground. The scenery was one so simple yet so special. The ground was moderately big, with mahua and neem trees on one side, nice benches under them, two other sides were lined with houses and another side was open with bushes and a few flower shrubs. June parked her cycle and went and sat on one of the benches; Sooji followed her. As she sat she could behold the sunset right in front of her -- it was beautiful. The sky was a smooth gradation of blue, white, yellow, orange, pink and a bit of violet, with a vermilion sun. Sooji sat right at her feet and June brushed her hair gently. The place had its own beauty but it was deserted. She took out her earphones and plugged them in; Ed Sheeran was about to play. That was when she heard the sound of rustling leaves and a sudden fall. She got up to see who it was and she saw a boy, who seemed to be the same age as her. She helped him get up and that was when she realised that he was blind. She helped him to a seat. Sooji barked twice. He began," Hey, I'm Saavan and by now you must have realised that I can't see. True, but I've very sharp ears (laughs up a little). Why aren't you saying anything, huh? I live two streets away from this ground. I had a fight with my mother, so, angry I came here; took me a lot of effort though!" June listened silently, looking at him all the while. Sooji lied down.
The sun had set already. Saavan stopped talking. June understood that to get him talking again, she had to do something, but what? She couldn't speak and he couldn't see her symbols to interpret them. She shared her earphones with him. It played 'Perfect Strangers' by Jonas Blue. Even autoplay can sense the atmosphere sometimes.
We share because we care. June shared her earphones with Saavan because she cared enough to have a conversation with him. Sometimes, a small gesture like this means more than words can. And, if you really care for someone, share your time with them.
