“Fifty, fifty-five, sixty ...” Cuddy sat cross-legged, fervently counting the money she had saved during summer vacation. Thrill oozed from her voice as she counted the last cash, “and … 1000! Woohoo!” raising her hands in air, she let out a loud yell!

Leaping to her feet, she dashed across the hallway into her father’s room where Mr Alex was engrossed reading the newspaper over a steaming cup of coffee.

Bursting with excitement, Cuddy climbed up on the bed and started jumping around, shouting “Daddy, daddy!” at the top of her lungs.

“Whoa! You are going to spill the coffee and scald yourself! Hold on!” said Mr Alex, quickly taking away the cup, he put it onto the bedside table. Cupping her face in his hands, Alex looked at her tenderly, “Now tell me sweetheart, what’s making you go crazy?”

“Daddy, I have saved 1000 rupees! You promised me you would buy me a bicycle if I saved up to 1000 rupees from my pocket money! So I have saved the money, now please let’s go! Let’s go to the shop at once!”

“Take a breath at least! Relax!” said Mr Alex, smiling and calming his little angel.

“Daddy, how can I relax? Please let’s go and buy me the bicycle right now! Please! Please! Please!”

“Ok! Let me at least change my clothes!” He asked laughing.

Glowing, Cuddy nodded and moved to give way to his father.

At the bicycle shop, Cuddy excitedly stepped inside. Despite being spellbound by the wide array of collection at the shop, she knew what she had to buy as for umpteen times she had passed this shop and looked at the pink bicycle on display, every time praying to God that no one else buys it.

While Cuddy waited for her father to pay at the cash counter, she casually glanced around when she saw a girl, wearing clothes with patches and hair a little messed up, pressing her face into the glass door looking intently at Cuddy’s bicycle.

“Who is this girl daddy?” inquired Cuddy as she tugged his pants.

“How would I know, dear?”

Inquisitive about the girl, Cuddy walked up to the door and pulled it open.

“Hello, I am Cuddy. What’s your name?” said Cuddy stretching out a hand to her.

“I am Rachael,” the other girl said, shyly returning the handshake.

“Do you also want to buy a bicycle?” Cuddy asked the girl.

“Yes, but I can’t. My father can’t afford expensive things like these. I come here every day to see these bicycles! There’s no harm in seeing them and, of course, it doesn’t cost either,” Rachael said turning back to the shop and pressing her face into the window again.

Cuddy, heartbroken to hear Rachael’s story, stared at her apologetically.

“Let’s go honey!” said Mr Alex coming out of the shop holding the bicycle.

“Daddy, wait!” Cuddy held his hand and stopped him. He looked questioningly at Cuddy. She took the bike from her father and, to his surprise and shock, wheeled it towards Rachael.

“What are you doing Cuddy?” bewildered, he asked.

“Rachael, this is for you,” Cuddy said.

“Huh, what?” perplexed, Rachael stared at Cuddy blankly.

“This is your bicycle, now” said Cuddy, reading Rachael’s expressions.

Pushing the bicycle back, Rachael shook her head adamantly, “Are you crazy? I can’t take this from you? I can never do a thing that would harm my father’s honour! I can’t take this!” Shaking her head, she took a step back.

Sadly, Cuddy tried to think of something that would make Rachael change her mind when suddenly a brilliant idea came to her. Smiling broadly, she looked at Rachael and said, “What if we use the bicycle mutually? I keep the bike and you can come over to my house to use it whenever you want! This way you would get to ride the bike yet not hurt your father’s feelings!”

As Cuddy’s idea sank in, Rachael’s face lit up with happiness and excitement and a wide smile spread across her face. With sheer gratitude for Cuddy, Rachael moved forward and hugged her tightly.

“Thank you, Cuddy! Thank you so much! You are truly an amazing person!”

“I am proud of you my princess!” kissing her forehead, Mr Alex he embraced his little daughter.

That day an act of generosity led Cuddy to get a lifelong friend in Rachael! Shared bruises, shared wounds, shared scars, and shared joy today speak of their unbreakable and indestructible lifelong relation! A relation made by the power of giving!

Published in Dawn, Young World, September 17th, 2016