A missing goodbye

By Nilohit Bagchi

Sameer was a very kind and generous man. He recently secured a job in a big office in Pune. When Sameer was going to the office for the first time, he saw the watchman and said, “Hello, Good morning. How are you doing?” 

Watchman smilingly replied, “I am doing fine, sir. How are you?” 

Sameer said, “I am fine too. Well, I need to go to the office. Bye.” 

“Bye, sir,” the watchman replied. He was very touched by Sameer’s generosity and kindness and was very happy. 

When the office was over, Sameer, on his way out said, “Goodbye and have a nice day,” to the watchman. To which he also responded, “Same to you, sir.” Sameer thereafter left for home. 

They used to exchange these greetings every day without fail.

But one day, Sameer was suddenly trapped in a very cold room with a minus-degree temperature. It was getting colder inside gradually. He tried to call for help, but nothing worked. He was freezing, losing consciousness and dying very slowly.

On the verge of his death, the watchman suddenly entered the cold room and picked up the unconscious Sameer and took him out very quickly. He was worried about Sameer’s condition so he made a hot tea and made him seep it carefully. After drinking tea, Sameer slept soundly. 

When he woke up, he saw the watchman. 

Watchman softly said, “Finally, you woke up, sir.” 

Sameer was confused: “What! Where am I?” 

Watchman replied, “Let me explain to you, sir.” 

So, he started to explain: “Actually today, I received ‘Good morning!’ from you but I did not receive ‘Goodbye.’ So I thought something was missing. After all members of the office left the building, I started searching the whole office for you. At last, I found you unconscious in the cold room. I took you out immediately and made hot tea for you to seep. You went to sleep after drinking tea and woke up now.”

After listening to this, Sameer said, “Thank you so much for helping me; you saved my life.” 

Watchman replied, “No need for thanking me, sir; that’s just my ordinary job.” Sameer tried to give him Rs. 2,000, but the watchman refused to accept it. Sameer said, “Please don’t refuse; you saved my life, and you deserve it.” Then the watchman took the money and said, “Thank you, sir.”

Sameer said, “No problem; anyway, goodbye.” After that, the watchman waved him goodbye.