Tom Kottackal,
Shopping for Mom’s Birth day
CHAPTER TWO
Shopping For Mom’s Birthday
Lucy and her two sisters Suzie and Princy want to buy a new dress for their mother as a birthday gift. They board a bus to Town. The bus conductor collects the fee from passengers going on between them. The conductors in India collect the bus fare directly from them wherever in the bus they are. Suzie, her elder sister, pays him the bus fare for the three of them. He gives her back the balance of the money. He presses his chest against her shoulder, and she gets frightened, and she is a timid girl. Lucy sees it and can’t tolerate it. She, with full strength, gives a mighty punch into his abdomen, and he screams and falls. He writhes in pain but stands up. As an answer to the passengers’ question, Suzie tells them, "He has abused me." But he denies the accusation. Lucy gives him one more punch into his abdomen and tells him, "You do wrong against women and deny it? Tell the truth." She goes on punching him, though he lies on the floor of the bus in pain and crying. After four more heavy punches and one kick to his head, he speaks now, "I’m very sorry, forgive me." He and people can hear only the voice of Lucy but cannot see her. They marvel at what’s happening there. The man almost convulses in pain due to the heavy blows and hearing her voice without seeing her. He decides there and then never to abuse any female in his life, but support them always. Some people can learn to behave well only through challenging experiences, and others need only their common sense. Meanwhile, the bus reaches the Town, and they get down, but Lucy remains invisible to others, confusing them all.
They search for a cloth shop and find one. They ask for their desired dress, and the man at the sales counter brings out so many varieties. All three girls like one of the many sets. So they choose to buy it, but then the manager calls that man and communicates something to him. He comes back to say," It’s not on sale," and he keeps it back in the rack. Then Lucy tells him, "You have kept it for sale, that’s why you have shown it to us, and we like it, and so we want that set and not any other. What is not on sale, how can you show to us?" Lucy expresses what she wants.
What follows is a big argument. The sales agent refuses to sell it to the three sisters. The manager watches what goes on there. Lucy focuses on the packet, brings it back to her hands from the rack in front of their eyes, takes it to the billing counter, and asks for the receipt. But they all are in one thought and refuse to sell it. In front of the cashier, Lucy, with the packet, makes herself invisible to them. Now, they can see only Suzie and Princy. The manager and all of them get surprised, worried, and in panic. The cashier tells the manager that the girl can carry away everything from there, including the cash. Lucy appears again and asks for a receipt. They sell it to Lucy, and the manager comes to Lucy, the five-year-old girl, and asks pardon, "I’m very sorry. On getting a phone call from an important person asking for an excellent set of dress, and this set is the best and the only one we have here. That’s why..."
"So, all customers are not important to you, a shopkeeper?" Lucy opens his inner blindness.
The manager thanks to her for making him aware of a great truth about business and wishes them well, and the sisters leave the shop happy. They in the shop discuss the three sisters.
"They are very honest, and truthful." The manager judges them correctly.
"They stand for truth and justice." The one who has shown the clothes to the sisters says and continues," We need such type of courageous ladies today for the growth of families and society."
Lucy’s home has become a home of peace and joy, singing and laughter, prayer and praise. There’s life in the family, and now, they have the sense of the divine. Everybody in the family appreciates each other and encourages each other. They get ready to celebrate their beloved mom’s birthday. The children sing a birthday song to their mom, and Lucy greets her with a bouquet. Mom sees her little one bringing it, but suddenly Lucy disappears, and only the vase with flowers is coming to her hands. Mom thinks something is wrong with her eyes or mind. Then, Princy asks her mom to blow off the lit candles. She is the Mistress of the ceremony, the MC.
"My beloved Mom, dad, sisters and my friends, as we celebrate the birthday of our mom, I want to ask you something. Does anyone know the meaning of blowing off the lit candles and cutting cake to celebrate a birthday?" Princy asks them.
"You tell us." In unison, all of them request her.
"Alright, I’ll share it with you. This custom has originated in Germany. Representing the Light of life, they light a candle on the cake. In many years, the meaning has improved. The candles now represent the number of years the celebrant has lived. When the celebrant blows the candles off, it means that out of the number of years God has allowed the person to live on earth, these many years have gone or lost, and now, how many more years are leftover nobody has any idea. So it’s a reminder of the ’birthday, baby to repent over the wrongs of the past till the date and to live the most fruitful way, whatever the number of years is leftover, and to live as a blessing to others. The cutting of the cake means the celebrant’s saying goodbye to the past and its wrongs, and she begins a new life of other-centred, or a life of sharing, and self-sacrifices. Mom, now I ask you to blow the candles off and cut the cake. Dad, you can help her." Princy thus starts the birthday celebration.
On the following day is a holiday. So, Lucy and Suzie, along with a few friends, plan to go fishing, with ordinary fishing rods, in a nearby river. As they are fishing, all of them have got some fish except Lucy. They have spent almost two hours. Lucy feels disappointed, but she is unwilling to use her special powers to catch fish unless circumstances require it. They are all planning to return home, but Lucy has nothing. So now, she does something.
"Hello, fish of this river, I can’t go home with no fish. So the big ones jump out into my hands, please sacrifice for me." Lucy speaks to the fish of the river.
Her friends heard it, and they make fun of her calling, "The idiot of the century." But she remains well composed and silent and focuses on her purpose of bringing a few big fish closer to her. A big one jumps into her lap, and one by one, ten big ones. No fish has jumped in front of her friends. Look at Lucy, how she struggles to catch each one of them and put them in her fish basket. Then she stands up and looks at her companions victoriously but quietly. They all put their heads down in thorough humiliation, and they feel sorry for what they have done to Lucy. Seeing them, Lucy speaks to them.
"My friends, it’s alright. Remember what Jesus says in the Bible, ’The first will be the last, and the last will be the first.’ God has given us a gift to respect each other, even though we may disagree with others’ ideas." Therefore, let’s never put down others, whatever the situation is. Come. Let’s go back. It’s getting late." A forgiving and caring Lucy reconciles with them and consoles them.
The entire family rejoices at the beautiful catch of fish by Suzie, Princy, and Lucy. Their parents appreciate them for their newfound talent as fisherwomen. But Princy and Suzy know better who the real fisherwoman among them is. Since they have planned together never to reveal the secret, they do not show the extraordinary power of Lucy, even to their parents or anybody else, for the greater good.