The pearl-studded cashmere shawl was screaming for my attention and I was completely in love with it once my gaze fell upon it. Now the only thing I wanted in my life was that shawl, but convincing my mother was surely a mammoth task.

I mustered up my courage and started to define how beautiful the shawl and its fabric were, but my plea seemed to fell on deaf ears. Hence, it was quite clear to me soon that I couldn’t purchase it.

We came out of the shop but I kept being stubborn about my wish. My mother’s only excuse was that I already had a plethora of shawls that I never wore and buying more would only be a waste of resources. My mother thought she had convinced me, but the stubborn me didn’t take her excuse into account.

The moment I arrived home, I rushed towards my room. I closed the door and kept looking out of the window with wrath. Finally, I got up and picked my old shawl and draped it around myself. I also picked up the stash of my savings to buy the shawl all by myself. The shawl I wore was protecting me from cold, but all that was on my mind was that attractive shawl I saw back in shop.

While I was manoeuvring my way towards the shop I took a stop at the bus stand. It was too cold to walk further, so I decided to stay and have some coffee from a stall nearby. I placed the order and soon got my coffee.

While I sat on a wooden bench gulping down my coffee, I caught sight of a child sitting in a corner like a bag of potatoes.

He had wrapped himself with his arms and was shuddering to death. The piece of clothing on his body was near to nothing and therefore didn’t help him stay covered, and even warm. I looked at him with mercy and pity. All he did was sit in the corner and shudder, and maybe send inaudible prayers to God for help. He seemed oblivious to his surroundings, or maybe his senses had gone too numb to pay attention to anything much.

This continued for a while and finally I stood up to move towards him and offer him help, when I suddenly saw a person standing at the stop. He took off his jacket and sneaked it beside the boy. He did it discreetly to make sure that the boy didn’t realise what he was doing nor did many people notice it either.

The boy came back to reality when a bus came to a screeching halt at the stop. When the boy looked around him, he found the jacket next to him and picked it up. The moment he saw the jacket, his lips curled in a radiant smile. He wore it, and the warmth made his face glow like a jeweller’s shop.

A pang of guilt hit me and I realised my mother was right. I have everything and wanting for more is only greed not need.

That moment I saw something in him that I, despite having everything, didn’t have: content and gratefulness.

Published in Dawn, Young World, March 13th, 2021