Not Again!!
Why me?
Today I went again to the nearby electronics shop to enquire about the repair of my calculator which was supposed to be delivered to my doorsteps a week back. This was the third time I was visiting him.
‘Excuse me?’
‘Yes ma’am, how can I help you?’ he replied in the same calm tone I have been listening to for days.
‘My calculator?’
‘Sorry ma'am didn't get you!’ he asked innocently as if he didn’t know. It is the third time I am visiting your damn shop this week, how can you forget?
Still, I replied calmly, ‘I submitted my calculator for repair a week prior. I haven’t got it back yet.’
He searched for something on his laptop, then said, ‘ma’am can you please show me your bill?’
What the hell is he talking about? It is the damn third time I have been asked the same question! How can they act as if I have entered the store for the first time?
Exhaling, I opened my bag, took out the bill, and handed it to him. Giving me a big smile he entered the details in his computer and after a minute or so replied, ‘sorry ma'am but it will take a few more hours to be fixed. I promise it will be delivered to your doorsteps within tomorrow.’
Now I can’t control it, banging his glass table hard I shouted, ‘do you think I am mad? This is the same line I have been hearing for days! Stop fooling me and give me a refund, right now! I don’t want it to be repaired here.’
The manager came rushing to the counter, offering me a chair to sit in. I sat, but my temper was still high.
‘Please ma'am, relax. I am so sorry from his side, just give us two days more.’
‘Are you serious!! Two days more!!’
‘Ma’am our workers are off duty, I can’t help it!’ he gave me the same old excuse every manager gives to handle his customers.
‘You want me to revisit you after two days?’
‘No ma'am we will drop it at your doorsteps,’ another lie, and this time I was done. I quietly left the shop with no hope of getting my calculator back.
I crossed the road and sat in a taxi. It was not even 5 minutes until we encountered a traffic jam. The entire road of full of cars, scooters, taxis, and bikes, and there was no movement at all.
‘Fuck,’ I leaned on the car’s seat.
I was running late for my evening shift, and the traffic was as if someone had put adhesive on the road. And the teenagers now, four boys in the car adjacent to me were playing songs loudly. Ultimately, my head started aching.
Finally, after an hour’s wait, the traffic moved. Obviously, I was late to the office and my boyfriend was waiting for me in the cafe nearby.
I was in my thoughts when the car came to a halt.
‘Why you stopped?’ I asked the driver.
‘Someone is there in front of the car.’
I peeped and saw my boyfriend standing in front of the car. He came forward, bending near the window, and asked, ‘you have been so late. I was tensed.’
‘Yeah, I am late. Without knowing the reason you shout at me as if I did it intentionally. Do you even know what I am going through since morning? No right!!’
‘I didn’t mean that. And how I would know your phone is not reachable.’
‘I very well know what you mean.’
‘But I didn’t….’
‘You do,’
‘Fine then,’ and without another word, he left me alone in the middle of the road. How rude it was! Almost on the verge of crying I sat inside the taxi again.
‘Sorry to interfere in between ma'am but you didn't do it right.’
‘What?’
‘Sir came to pick you up, and obviously, he must have been waiting here for so long. I don’t think he shouted at you, he just said you are late and he was tensed. I can understand it was a tough day for you but if you continue shouting at your dear ones because you are frustrated then it will skew your life.’
‘I am a taxi driver, so many people fight with me every day regarding the fare, shouting at me without any valid reason. I have a two-year-old daughter, and if I continue to take this tension home I will not be able to give her time.’
He dropped me at my destination and left giving me a satisfied smile. I wanted to thank him, but I couldn’t. Sometimes just one small chat is enough to change your mindset.
‘Days can be bad, but don’t let it deter you from enjoying yourself.’
‘Don’t carry the tension. Leave it where it was born.’
