The Email Notification

Noor was getting late for her interview. After months of waiting, she finally got a call for her dream job.  It was already 8:30 a.m. and she had to reach the office at 10 a.m. Noor being Miss Punctual did not want to waste another minute. She quickly grabbed a sandwich from the breakfast table, picked up her documents and left in a hurry.

The cab was already there to pick her up. On the way, she listened to her favourite playlist. Not even a single sign of nervousness on her face, she quietly hummed the tune of the song playing on her phone.

The cab came to a sudden halt. Noor just escaped a heart attack.

“What happened bhaiya?” she asked the cab driver.

“Ma’am, I don’t know,” he replied.

Taking out the ear plugs, Noor stepped out of the car. A crowd was gathered infront of her forming a huge circle. Splitting the crowd into two, she reached the centre.

A little boy of 8 or 10 years of age was lying on the road all soaked in blood. People were just standing and looking at the little child.

A little girl sitting beside her screaming mother was crying. The mother was asking for help, “Somebody please call an ambulance.”

“My dear, I won’t let anything happen to you. We’ll take you to the doctor and you’ll be fine. I’ll buy you your favourite toy car. Mumma is promising you. Somebody help. Please help us.”

She kept seeking for help but nobody came forward. People only like to see the drama. The little boy died in his mother’s arms.

“Aryaaa,” Noor screamed.

“Madam, do you know him?” somebody asked.

Noor came back to present. She was sweating. The deep hidden memory of what happened fifteen years ago played infront of her eyes. Noor’s elder brother Aryan died in a similar accident.

Aryan loved his little sister more than anything in the world and she loved him back equally. Noor remembered how she would take all the blame of Aryan’s mischiefs and get scolded, and in return he would get her favourite chocolates as compensation. They would eat, play and study together. They both were inseparable, until that unfortunate day when he left her to never come back.

“Ma’am, we are getting late!” the cab driver exclaimed from behind.

Noor looked at the time in her watch. It was 9:45 a.m. She should have reached the office by now. She still had 15 minutes with her to make it to the interview and save her life from the crisis of unemployment. She turned to go and conquer her dreams.

Her mind struggled for a few seconds. She had hardly taken two steps when she turned back again and found herself moving towards the little statue of amusement for the crowd. She had made up her mind. She could not let another Aryan die. She asked the cab driver to help her pick the boy up and rush to the nearest hospital.

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As soon as they reached the hospital, doctors started the treatment. Noor could not leave him alone and go for the interview. Her heart did not let her until the doctors declared that he was out of danger. It was 1:30 p.m.

“Ma’am, the boy is the fine now. I’ll drop you for your job interview,” said the cab driver who had stayed back at the hospital.

Somewhere in her mind, Noor knew that she had lost a golden opportunity. Her resume proudly said, “Punctual.”

“You must give it a try. Let the almighty decide.”

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“Good afternoon ma’am. May I help you?” the receptionist said.

“Good afternoon. My name is Noor Sehgal. I had an interview scheduled at 10 a.m. in the morning. I know I’m late but…”

“I’m sorry ma’am. The interviews got over half an hour ago.”

“If you could let me talk to the HR Manager just for a minute, I could explain the whole…”

“Ma’am, Sir is very particular about time. I won’t be able to help you.”

Tringgg…tringgg… The receptionist picked up the phone receiver.

“Hello!”

“Yes sir.”

“Ok sir.”

“Ma’am, you may go inside. Sir wants to meet you.”

“Thankyou! Thankyou so much!” Noor’s happiness knew no bounds. Maybe the sand hadn’t slipped off her hands completely.

She entered the cabin of the HR Manager with an apologetic yet confident face.

“May I come in Sir?”

“Yes please. Have a seat.”

The interview started. Noor’s answers impressed the manager.

“Ms Noor, that’s quite impressive. The only thing that makes you unfit for the position is your careless attitude about the value of time. Time is money.”

“Sir, I completely understand your concern. But time is not only money. Sometimes, time costs you your life. I was on my way here and that too ahead of time but…” Noor narrated the incidents of the morning to the manager. The manager was expressionless after listening to the story, instead he asked her to leave.

As she came out of the office, Noor booked a cab to the hospital to meet the boy. The boy had been shifted to general ward when she reached the hospital.

The boy’s smile made her forget the horrible HR manager and the interview. She played with him for some time and bid him goodbye with a promise to come and meet him the next day.

Her phone beeped on her way back home. “Congratulations! You have been selected” her email notification read.

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Photo from Google Images