The Old Man's Life Calculator

My Resolution

That night I was in a state of trauma. The meeting with the old man had got me thinking about it. The thought that this man who must be almost the age of my grandpa was running here and there, from one train compartment to another, from one station to other to add days to his life. This thought brought goosebumps on me. I was silent the whole time thinking about it.

My silence must have been noticeable because during dinner, my mum asked me,"What happened son ? You look worried. Has anything happened in college ?"

"No, nothing like that " was my reply.

" But you are so silent today. You didn't tell me anything about
your college incidents today. That's very unusual of you. Tell me. What's the worry?" She queried.

I thought for a second or two and told her about that old man I had met. She heard it quietly. After I finished telling her about it, she just asked me one question.
"What do think you could have done ?"

That got me thinking. What I could have done ? I could have bought a calculator. What more I could have done ? But my heart was not satisfied with that answer.

The more I thought on the question, a wave of realization swept over me. I could have asked him about the life he was living, the reason behind it, the story behind it, his story. Had the world been so cruel to him that he was in this state ? Did the Gods curse him into this hell ? Did the time change too fast on him ? The answer was with the old man.

I resolved to find and talk with him.

. . .

It became a routine for me to alight the train at the station from which the old man had board the train when he had met me. This happened for a week. I would get off at the station, look around for the old man, get disappointed when I did not find him, board another train and go home.

But my efforts did not go in vain.
At last, I found the old man. As usual, I alighted at the same station and i was looking for the old man when I saw him.

I saw him sitting on a desk at the end of the station. He looked very tired. His eyes were drooping. Sitting with a bend in his back, he was looking towards the sky as if pleading the Almighty to look after him. He had the same big blue bag filled with the unsold calculators.

On seeing him, my excitement rose. I took a deep breath and started walking towards him...