Salim- owner of Salim’s store

 “Life isn't fair. It's just fairer than death, that's all.”
― William Goodman

                It’s just been two years, that I became a regular at Salim’s store. Though I have been married for nine years and staying in the locality ever since, I had other regular stores earlier. It was my husband who first mentioned this store and ever since it has been a gradual process of growing trust until now, to the extremity that almost all of my return trips from my office included a stop at Salim’s store. Unintentionally it had become a routine in my life.

 It had all the things I needed, the ones I had forgotten to buy from the margin free store, milk, magazines, provisions and what not.... And behind all that was the main entity of the store-Salim, a very hard working, and charming, well behaved and smart person. I remember my son, once noticing that Salim uncle is very quick in doing things.

 It was only couple of weeks back that I found that this guy with a small store owned an Octavia!! I was really impressed now and asked about it to my husband. I got more information that apart from the store, he also did other franchise jobs, even was a newspaper boy in the area, and owned some land here and there which he had brought and was constructing a 2500 sq. house!! Wow!! He was definitely not the kind of person I had assumed him to be. I remembered he was blessed with a child recently and felt really happy for such a nice diligent person. Such be it, he had become a sort of day-to-day person in my life.

It’s Ramzan... And today as I go back home in an auto, I have my little things to buy as always, and my naturally programmed brain tells me to stop by Salim’s store.

 But then, with a stabbing pain and helplessness, I remind myself for the umpteenth time, that the shop will be closed today ….  For how long I don’t know …as today ….Salim the owner of Salim’s store is NO MORE in this world…. He expired today early morning all of a sudden, due to a fall in the bathroom, caused by high BP they say..!!!!!!

LIFE really is UNFAIR and truly unpredictable….!!!

When I say that… I am not thinking of his young wife...his baby... his mother…his family or all of his unaccomplished dreams…but yet I am in a state of shock!!! Finding it hard to accept the small, simple, fact- that I will NOT see this man again in that store anymore!!  When I stop by the store someday to buy something…..