Acts of Love - The Two Friends and the Grandfather and Grandchild

Sometimes I see a moment in people's lives - while walking, sitting, or just watching the road. And they are so fleeting that I cannot take a picture. But they are too precious to miss recording.

The first was when two friends passed by each other. Both girls, perhaps in their tenth class, in their uniform. Maybe they had to come to school for some work. One of them was leaving the school premises while the other one was just entering it. She was on the pillion of her Dad's scooter and they passed.

In that moment, their eyes widened, their faces lit up into brilliant, contented smiles and all the joy in the world filled them at discovering their friend. The scooter sped on, the girls waved at one another, those heavenly smiles stuck on their face. And as the girl in the scooter passed me, that content smile on her face, her entire world filled at the moment with just that innocent thought of having a friend, of sharing that pure moment with her.

And I hoped she (and her friend) could retain that moment in their lives as they grew older, as the cynicism of the real world seeps in (I hope not) and they will be able to remain frozen in that moment. Or at least be able to dip into it at some point when they are twenty, thirty, forty years gone!

...

The second was when I saw a little kid of five or so, hopping on to the pavement and going towards a parked motorcycle. I was wondering why he was walking towards it so purposefully - it was just another normal bike. Then he turned and looked at his grandfather perhaps - not a very old grandfather - and the grandpa egged him on.

The kid walked up close to the motorbike and turned again to see his grandpa. I was wondering what they were upto And then I heard the grandpa tell him - Go on read, A, P...'. Then I understood, the grandpa was egging the kid to read the alphabet and numbers on the bikes registration.

And the kid read, one alphabet and turned to the grandpa for approval, which he got in abundance. The two were thrilled to bits at this new learning.

And I hope the kid will somehow remember how wonderful his grandfather had been, when he gets older, and gives the old man, a moment like this where his grandpa's eyes light up exactly like his.