When My Tree Blossomed

December! Month of Santa, snow, gifts and all together a season of happiness and joy. It was a December month of 2002, when the HR department of our company came up with a novel idea. They visited a nearby foster care and collected the wishes of all the kids. They put up a board in front of the office on which there was a paper tree full of leaves. Employees those who are interested, could pick up one or more of those leaves and there will be name of a kid on the back side of the leaf with their wishes.

I was fortunate enough to have the best parents in the world and had a great childhood. To be in a foster care, even for a day will be my weirdest dream. This very thought propelled me to take a leaf without a second thought. I read the name out of the leaf and tried to memorize his name with an imaginary face. I have a gifted memory. Whoever I have met in my life, I still connect the face of them with their name.

I went through the wishlist of this kid. It was not a long list. It was few such as 2 school bags(if possible with Bart Simpson pictures), 2 water bottles(again if possible with Bart Simpson pictures), 2 notepads, 2 sets of pencils and 2 sets of drawing sketches. I wished, he had 'wished' more.

And there is one bizarre thing which he has written after every wish.

" One for me and one for my 'pal' .

Now I know why he wanted two of them. I wondered who this 'Pal' was. Whoever, I bought the things he wished for and handed it over to the people in the HR department.

Days have passed by, years have passed by, I switched many companies, and I was in this new company with very new nice colleagues. This company has a very good gesture towards the society. That is, it has a policy that 10 percentage of its employees are or has to be 'differently abled '. The one who sat behind me was 'Ricky' who is one of the top performers of the company. He had only one limb. He was such a very nice young chap with whom I soon made a friendship. We usually go together for our coffee pauses, lunch break and kept talking about all the things under the sun. He was such a well-informed person with a very clear view point on every matter on earth. I really enjoyed the time I spend with him.

One day during our routine coffee pause we started talking about family. I kept on talking about the fun I had when I was young, the mischiefs I did, how my parents surprised me with the gifts, the values they have imbibed on me, the lovely atmosphere at home and I kept on taking and talking. Normally I found Ricky to be interested in what ever topics I pick, but this time clearly I found an uneasiness on his face.

"Well, what you think about Elon Musk SpaceX Mars project. How realistic it would be ?". I wanted to change the subject intentionally but Ricky's mind was still lost somewhere. "You are so fortunate", said Ricky. Definitely that was not the answer to the question I have asked. He continued. "I had a troubled childhood. My father was an alcoholic and always had fights with my mother. When I was born, he left us. Maybe he would have thought I do not make much….". He refrained from completing the whole sentence. My mother could not support me financially or mentally and all it ended me in a foster care. Just when he finished the sentence, his phone started ringing.

"Hello, Andrew, how are you doing ? All good". He kept himself busy talking on the phone for the next five minutes. He continued talking to me after his conversation on the phone. "Every thing was hell except this guy 'Andrew' in that foster care. He is the one who has just telephoned me. He calls me at least one time in a day inquiring everything is all right at my end. I was bullied, isolated, mocked at that foster care all because, I think, I was 'special' to them. But this guy Andrew, he was a huge relief for me. He was always there by side, so compassionate, so generous." The next fifteen minutes talk was about him. 'What he is doing now?' I was further interested in knowing about him. 'That is a good question, and you know, I would say he has been rightly rewarded for all his virtues so that he is now in a top position in a multinational company. It is all because of his good heart." Ricky further emphasized on that.

" And you know I am a big fan of Bart Simpson since my childhood and still I watch Bart Simpson cartoons. Sometime Andrew makes fun of me saying 'grow up man grow up'.

This name 'Andrew' and 'Bart Simpson' has started resonating in my mind. 'If you don't mind could you please tell his full name." I asked.

" He is called Andrew Hall".

 Did I hear it right? I got super elated. I could now connect the dots. Foster care, Bart Simpson and the 'Pal'. And the 'Pal' is no one other than I am now talking to. "To this day he is helping others and sharing his fortunes". Ricky was so excited to talk more and more about him. My happiness knew no bounds. My tree leaf has blossomed, not once but twice. One through Andrew and one through Ricky. We did some more small talk and returned to our work.

While returning home, I chewed through my old memories of my Christmas gift years back. He, 'my dear good old small leaf' is keeping the ball moving. What he got, he is returning. For sure, there is a ray of hope in this world and 'let it shine like a diamond' like Rihanna sang.