One of the most talented students of the school, Ali used to live in a village near Islamabad. He belonged to a poor family who earned their living through farming. Though Ali’s parents were not financially stable, the desire to see their only son become a doctor had made them admit him to a good school.

Ali realised and understood his parents’ desires, so he also performed well to live up to his parent’s dreams. He was in class seven and worked hard in studies.

One day, Ali was walking back home. It was a hot day and the sun was shining above his head. Deep inside Ali, a sort of discontentment was arising. All his classmates were well-off and would spend carefree time in the school, while Ali suppressed his desire to have fun. He would see his friends drive home in their cars or school vans, whereas he walked under the scorching heat. He felt miserable.

One day, while walking back home, Ali saw a little boy sitting on the footpath, wearing worn-out shoes and tattered clothes, with disorganised hair and sunken cheeks. He was imploring the passers-by, asking for food and money. Quite naturally, Ali felt pity for the child and went close to him, though he had no money to give. Upon asking, the boy revealed that he was homeless and was forced to beg for his survival.

Ali, realising that he could not do anything for the poor boy, walked on towards home. His parents hardly managed to run the household, how could they support an outsider?

At home also, he kept thinking about the poor boy and the urge to do something for him started building up in Ali. The helpless on the boy’s face kept coming into Ali’s mind. Ali wanted to help him, though he had no idea how.

Confused and irritated, Ali started brainstorming ideas to solve the dilemma. He had only one asset and that was his speaking skills. If he could use it to collect funds for the boy and take him home, the boy would at least get a safe place to stay. The next day, Ali talked to his parents and they agreed on the condition that they could only offer the homeless boy a place to stay but could not take care of his needs or expenses. After that, he talked to the boy, who willingly agreed to come with Ali.

Ali then went to school and started convincing his friends to donate generously. It was a challenging task, asking others for money. Some students even called him a beggar and said that he was collecting money for himself using the homeless boy as an excuse. But Ali did not care about what people thought, since he was doing it for a good cause and knew that his hard work would bear fruit.

Having collected some funds to take care of the boy’s immediate needs, such as clothes, Ali went to look for the boy and take him home. Ali had no sibling and was excited to form a bond with the boy.

When Ali reached home with the boy, he got to know that a neighbourhood lady had come for a routine visit. He went to the drawing room along with the boy, to introduce the boy to his family. However, something strange happened there. The lady who was visiting got up with a scream and rushed to hug the homeless boy and started crying.

Puzzled by the reaction, Ali asked what the matter was. It turned out that the boy was the son of the lady, who had been lost a couple of years ago. And since Ali’s family had shifted to this house just a few months back, they had never seen the boy. The lady was full of gratitude to Ali for uniting her with her son.

Ali was very elated, for the boy now had a real home and family. His act of generosity had resulted in such happiness that no amount of money could buy.

Published in Dawn, Young World, February 17th, 2024