7th May, 2013, New Delhi. 

He was on the streets, helpless and hungry as he watched the world go by, often questioning as to why he couldn’t go with them.

He saw people smile, hold hands and wondered why he couldn’t be a part of it.

And then, one day, he was adopted by this angel, who looked at him as if he were her own. She held his hand and promised to take him along wherever she went. He suddenly believed that God existed.

Renu, all of twenty-four, was one hell of a girl. Coming from an affluent background, she had already trotted half the globe. She was well educated and had her head held firmly on her shoulders. The government bothered her and she always wanted to take on to the streets, participate in movements, extend a hand to the needy. She had decided to start an NGO and help educate kids, with the belief that education would eradicate poverty eventually. She hated stereotypes and wanted to make a career that would impact the society in the positive direction.

There was another side to her persona. She was not only bold, but an extremely attractive girl with striking features. Her hair was fine as spun gold and she never lacked male attention. A social person to the core, she loved outings every weekend. In her free time she blogged and was aware of the kind of effect she had on people around, especially her male friends. She loved it. Her blood boiled when she was blatantly labeled as a stereotypical woman, who one day would get settled for wealthy NRI.

On his part, he used to love having her around, often feeling comfortable, and at home; Renu was his window to the world, to freedom, to life.

Every moment with her was treasured, not knowing when another one would come.

Each day was like his last. Only hoping that she would return the next day and be a part of his reverie. It was like living on the edge, for real.

It was sometime during his birthday that he wanted to tell her how happy he felt, how secure she made him feel. All he needed was that big unconditional hug which she always greeted him with. .

He waited. 

But, she never came….

This is the hypocrite India today. Everything is done according to convenience. Each one of us has a Renu in us. We always want to do something for the society, but we will only act on it till it’s convenient for us.

It was her choice - a choice to give up societal expectations, a choice to impact society, “To do the real thing”.

But, it didn’t take much time for her to be influenced by her peers, who painted a life full of opportunities for her. It was tempting, it was easy and she took it.  Again, a choice.

Maybe there was nothing wrong in what she did. But that’s from society’s perspective. A one dimensional viewpoint.

What about that little boy? Did his perspective matter in the larger picture? What about the world full of opportunities which were painted by Renu and shown to him. What about hope? What about his innocence? What about unconditional love?

Did it all evaporate in thin air, in a single day?

That is the problem with “US” the youth of our country today. We want to do such things, majority of the times to impact our CV’s, to feed our own empty souls or under the pretext of being “cool”.  We join NGO’s easily and leave it pretty much the same way. Little do we realize that we are giving HOPE to other people.  And we all know how the mechanism of hope works, don’t we? And then, we don’t want to pursue it anymore as we have our own things to do, our other set of priorities. Our own careers to make.

Someone once said, that destiny is not a matter of chance, but a matter of choice. And its not a thing to be waited for, but a thing to be achieved. 

She was on a London bound flight, with a world full of possibilities in front of her. And he was on the streets again, looking up at the sky, wondering if God really existed, as he saw a plane pass by. 

Yes, that thing called destiny.