Everything happens for a reason
I, FOR ONE, always believe that everything, be it good or bad, happens for a reason. A true incident that happened recently is the perfect testimony to my belief.
It was a Saturday morning. I was looking forward to having a scrumptious breakfast. I grew sick of having the same old bread and butter at work, from Monday to Friday. I wanted something different for a change and thought about having nasi lemak.
There is a stall at the market near my house that sells mouth-watering nasi lemak wrapped in banana leaf, with the enticing aroma of rice cooked in coconut milk. One could never refuse the heavenly taste of it.
Upon reaching the stall, to my dismay, I discovered that I had to wait in a long line to order my breakfast. I decided to wait patiently for my turn. However, what I didn’t expect was having to endure a very long wait.
Apparently, the customer ahead of me had ordered many packets of nasi lemak.
It took a long while for the seller to pack the orders. During the wait, I was restless and hungry. I even contemplated going to another stall, but something unexplainable stopped me from doing so. After about 15 minutes, I finally heaved a sigh of relief because finally I would be able to place my order, but what followed was totally beyond my anticipation.
The seller and the customer were discussing the price of the orders. After doing some calculation, the seller finally concluded that the total cost was RM14.50.
I was still waiting to place my order as soon as the customer had paid for her food.
However, what I didn’t foresee was an even longer wait, as there seemed to be a miscalculation on the customer’s part. She had ordered one packet of nasi lemak without egg and five packets with egg. A packet of nasi lemak with an egg costs RM2.50, while the one without egg costs RM2. So, according to the seller, the total cost was RM14.50, which was correct. It was a simple calculation.
Nonetheless, the customer insisted that the total cost was RM12. I was on the verge of
going to another stall as I knew it would take ages before I could place my order. Besides, my patience was wearing thin. But there was this tiny voice in my head, stopping me from leaving the place.
I turned around to see if there were other customers behind me, but no ... none.
The customer had apparently come with her brother on a motorbike to buy breakfast. She explained the situation to him. She also said that all she had was RM12. Not a single sen more. She spoke in her mother tongue, which I understood perfectly.
So, to solve the problem, she suggested removing the eggs from all the packets so that it would only cost RM12. Unfortunately, the seller could not agree to her terms as it was unhygienic and unethical on the seller’s part to remove the eggs and resell them to other customers. Sadly, lady luck wasn’t smiling on her. She had no choice but to pay for it.
I saw the embarrassment on her face. She was aware of my presence and this further added to her misery. She was helpless.
My heart broke on seeing her in such a predicament. Without uttering a single word, I gladly paid for her breakfast. She accepted my help. There was a glow on her face. Gratefulness was written all over her face, and she thanked me profusely. I was happy I had helped someone in need.
She left the place with the breakfast she had ordered – without compromising on the eggs. Honestly speaking, I could not contain my happiness on seeing her happy, and I later related this to my family.
The long wait was a blessing in disguise. It happened for a reason. If I had chosen to leave the place, she would have been in a fix, as there were no other customers behind me who could help her.