When Kindness Turned into a Burden

Some people are so cruel that they snatch trust, confidence, love, and sincerity from others.

I have been very sensitive since childhood. My heart has always been extremely soft. Whenever I see someone sad, I become sad myself—whether it is a real person or even a scene from a film or TV drama. Sometimes I become so emotional that I start sobbing uncontrollably. Because of this weakness, I have suffered many losses in life.

I clearly remember that when I was in fifth grade, a very thin and frail old man used to come to our house. Seeing him walking with a stick, I would often cry, thinking about how he still had to wander from street to street at such an old age. I frequently gave him my share of food and sat with him to talk. In return, he gave me many prayers, though at that time I did not fully understand their value.

Even today, when I see an elderly person or a very young child working hard, my heart aches, and I try to help in whatever way I can. However, an incident happened that changed my thinking to a great extent. With time and circumstances, I too changed. What happened to me is now before you; you may decide whether I am right or wrong.

One day, I needed to do some shopping—for myself, for my mother, and for my children. My five-year-old son had been insisting on a bicycle for many days. I planned to complete all my shopping first and buy the bicycle at the end, as it was large and difficult to carry.

After finishing all my shopping, I had spent a considerable amount of money. I was holding four or five heavy shopping bags, feeling tired, hungry, and thirsty. I stopped a rickshaw, which was being driven by a very old and weak man. Seeing his frail condition, I felt deeply moved and decided in my heart to give him extra fare.

I sat in the rickshaw with my shopping bags. On the way, my hunger intensified, so I stopped near a burger shop that also had a sugarcane juice stall. As I was about to order, I thought the rickshaw driver should also eat. When I offered him food, he said he had no money and would eat dry bread at home in the evening. I insisted and told him I would pay. He ordered kebab and bread along with lassi, and I paid for everything. After eating, I felt a deep sense of peace, believing I had done a good deed purely for the sake of God.

Afterward, I asked him to take me to the Lighthouse bicycle market and then drop me home. He kindly agreed, calling me his daughter. We reached the market within ten minutes. My heart was still filled with satisfaction, unaware that this peace was temporary.

At the bicycle shop, I realized it would be difficult to manage my shopping bags while buying the bicycle. I asked the old man if I could leave my bags in the rickshaw for five to ten minutes while I purchased the bicycle. He assured me not to worry and even reminded me that a man who had just eaten could not betray me. Trusting his words—my biggest mistake—I left all my shopping bags in the rickshaw, keeping only my purse, and went inside.

Within ten minutes, I bought the bicycle and came out happily. But when I looked around, the rickshaw was gone. I searched everywhere, asked shopkeepers and passersby, but the old man had vanished along with my belongings.

My heart pounded in disbelief. I stood there holding the bicycle in one hand and my purse in the other, shocked and broken. People told me it was my fault for trusting a stranger so easily. My pain was not just for the lost items, but for the betrayal of my sincerity.

Eventually, I returned home in another rickshaw, crying the entire way. When my family heard the story, they said that times had changed and that kindness now often turns against the one who offers it.

Though this incident left a crack in my heart and made me cautious, I have forgiven that old man for the sake of my children. Our prophets forgave even greater crimes. I may be insignificant, but I can at least try to follow their example.

“Go, old man. I forgive you. May God forgive you too. Ameen.”