A butterfly withdrew and rolled up its tongue. Smelled honey and spread its yellow wings again and flew.
Mr. Alfred Jonathan was reading the file the second time, scrutinizing each and every line. The maid soon arrived into the garden and lay down the tray on the table in front of him. Mr.Jonathan sat up straight and lay down the file open on the mahogany wood. He picked up a toast, took a bite and turned another page. He took a sip of tea and remembered he didn’t add honey into it yet. Just then he noticed a yellow insect sitting on the brim of the honey jar. He shooed it away with the toast in his hand. The motion also caused his tea to spill . He watched in horror as the tea spilled onto the page which lay open. He quickly tore away that page to save the rest and in the anger of the moment he crumpled it into a soggy ball and threw it over the garden wall. He took a good minute to realize that he still needed the corrections that he had done on it.
Kasim checked his cracked watch, its needles pointed to 8 and the long one on 6. He pushed his cart and kept yelling “Paper, bottles and scrap!” through the streets. His eyes still red from the cheap liquor he had eight hours ago. Suddenly something bumped on his head. He saw the brown paper ball on the ground and cursed under his breath. Looked around and there was no one around to apologize to him. He picked it up mindlessly, added it to his collection of old news papers and started to move on with indifference. Just then he saw a worried middle aged man in fine suiting calling out to him about a piece of paper. Kasim suppressed a smile. He bargained with the owner's patience and fleeced a bill of 50 from him. Kasim didn’t hold back his smile on his way back to his cart.
Pinto often opened his little shop early on Monday, for those who didn’t get enough of liquor on a Sunday night. He ordered the little teen to go clean the tables and arrange the chairs. Around 11 am just 10 mins after the main doors to the bar was open, a shabby looking guy walked in happily waving a 50. He ordered the cheapest whiskey and the bare footed teen brought him the same with a dirty glass. Pinto watched him suspiciously. After an hour he told him pay up and just as he feared the man paid 70Rs.He was 30Rs short. They argued for a while and Pinto finally threw him out. The drunkard held onto an empty bottle as he was manhandled out. All pissed off, he got out and managed to hurl the bottle on the kerb in front. The bottle broke into a hundred pieces. Kasim ran.
Ali was just another 10 year old who made his living from selling balloons and begging in his off time. He was walking past Pinto’s Bar and Restaurant when he felt a sudden pain in his right foot. He screamed but his scream nearly went unheard over the sound of vehicles passing and those who heard, walked by with indifference. He sat down and twisted his bare foot and in the red, he saw a glass piece. He took out the shard and blood spilled out again.He tied a plastic bag around it. Limping ahead he thought maybe the injury may win some sympathy from rich women.So he went astray from his usual balloon selling business for the day and begged around the market place.He earned a few spare coins. A while later he saw men walking out of buildings and the traffic grew. Ali understood it’s probably 5pm and office time is up. He saw a bunch of young business women returning home from the building across the road. He hurried crossing, limping his way to the other side.
Just like any one else a black Honda City was also speeding back home. He was in a hurry after the long day at office discussing the merger of a rival company. He was still playing with numbers in his head. When suddenly he saw a boy hurrying across the road . The driver had no time to sound the horn, instincts took over and he slammed hard on the brakes. The car veered over to the other lane over the small dividers. Seconds later, from the opposite lane, a SUV barged into the City. The Honda city rolled over and finally ceased motion. The boy ran into the crowd. People nearby hurried over to the damaged vehicles. They peeked through the broken window. Inside a man lay morbidly still . They pulled him out of the upside down Honda City leaving behind a trail of red. A crowd gathered around the man and someone dialed a police station and another dialed for an ambulance, the man in the nice suit seemed important. A thoughtful stranger reached into the man's pocket and took out his wallet for a name and address. He got a home phone number and dialed it. “Yes..Hello? Am I speaking to Mrs. Jonathan ..?”
Somewhere in the distance, in a small garden a blue butterfly emerged from its cocoon and spread it's wings for the first time.
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