The fortune cookie

The young bank lady takes him to the locker box, hands over the key to him, and says that she will wait outside for him. He nods with a smile, waits for her departure, slowly turns the key, and opens the locker. He put his hand inside, takes out a small red velvet box, touches it on his forehead, and then opens it. His face becomes enlightened with a thousand watts. He momentarily goes 60 years down the lane.

Bhojohori lost both of his parents at a very early age before he turned 10. Although he was his parent's only child, there was nothing left to feed him once they were gone. As none of his parental relatives wanted to take care of him, his maternal uncle took him to their place unwillingly. Though his uncle loved him, he was not welcomed by his aunt. He attended a school there and was good at studies, however, could not continue longer. He left that place by the time he was barely 14 years old because of the rude behavior of his aunt and her children.

He left his uncle's home one night with a few pennies and one golden bangle of his deceased mother, which he kept carefully all along. He reached Calcutta on a fine morning. He was a smart, decent-looking boy. After trying his luck in a few places, he got a job in a wholesale grocery shop. As he was literate enough, his duty was to help the owner to maintain the daily expenditure. Though he missed school and friends he was earning sufficiently to feed himself properly. His boss was a kind-hearted man, he bought him two sets of new clothes and allowed him to sleep in the shop at night. It was going quite well on his side but not for long. The owner died one day, and his sons did not want to keep him.

All of a sudden, he was again on roads without any roof over his head. The new owner handed him a few pence and asked not to see him again. Baffled, he started walking on the road with a cloth bag on his shoulder. He had nowhere to go. He did not want to go back again to his maternal place. He saved a few rupees in these two years, but that was not enough. Though he still had his mother's bangle, he did not want to sell it at any cost. 

Amidst sorrow, he was mentally strong. He knew he needed a safe place to stay at night for the sake of the little savings he had. He decided to spend the night at a big railway station as there would be a few police. He walked for more than an hour to reach the station. He was hungry and tired. He bought puff rice from a hawker to eat. Suddenly he saw, there was another hawker, selling a different kind of food, which he had never seen before. His soul wanted to taste the new food, but his practical mind told him not to buy anything as he had no job then. He was perplexed for a moment, then he thought probably that would be the last day of his life to eat something he longed for. He decided to buy that food. It was triangular in shape, sweet in taste. But more surprise was waiting for him. After taking a small bite, he felt a piece of paper in his mouth. He thought he was fooled and wasted his hard-earned money. He took it out of his mouth. Casually he kept it in the pocket as he did not want to litter the station. He fell asleep very quickly on that night, as he was very tired.

The next morning, he woke up with worries. He needed to find a job, a place to stay but he had no idea what to do. He sat on a station chair and started thinking about his situation. Suddenly, he felt something in his chest pocket. He checked that and saw the piece of paper that he got in the food last night. He looked at it carefully, something was written on that. In the bright light of the morning sun, he read "You will overcome this when you use your full potential." He kept staring at the paper. After several minutes, he got up with a feeble smile. 

In the past two years, he saw business very closely, he voluntarily learned the tricks and hacks of running a successful grocery business. With the money he had, he purchased a sack of fruits from the market far from the station and started selling at the station. In those days, there were not many hawkers, so within a few days, he started gaining some money. He used to sell fruits with a very pleasant smile on his face. People who were regular passengers used to look for him to buy fruits before taking the train home.

That was the beginning, all these years, his business grew. He got married, had children. He made a permanent fruit and dry food stall in a popular market. Now his son and grandchild take care of the business. But a few things remained with him forever. His mother's bangle that he kept all these years with him. In need, he deposited it in the bank to get a loan but got it back as soon as he had enough money. Another thing is that small piece of paper, he found in that peculiar food. He always keeps it carefully, in many distresses it motivated him to move on. Everyone at home knows very well how he started his enterprise. Everybody regards that bangle and this paper as good omens.

Everything was going fine till the Covid 19 virus attacked the whole world. Like many others, their business also downsized. They were running dull for quite some time and also had to bid farewell to a few helpers. It was painful for him to see the situation. It reminded him of his early days. He was hurt but helpless too. On a fine day, unexpectedly his grandchild came out with an idea to turn the situation. With this newbie's suggestion, they started packing all the fruits and food boxes with a piece of paper with some motivational quotes on it. Who does not love seeing quotes? especially in a time of distress. They also started selling at a little discounted price. They realized the positive effect of these in a few days. Their old helpers also joined them back.

Bhojohori was overjoyed seeing his business running well again. Seeing his granddaughter in charge, he was relieved that the baton of his dream is in the proper hand. He became emotional. He wanted to see the piece of paper again. 

Now he is at the bank, holding the same paper that he found in a fortune cookie.