Portals of Discovery

More often than not we live through our lives as a series of connecting dots interweaving it with defining and profound events intertwined within the conundrum of possibilities.

Sometimes we are on a collision course and we just do not know it, whether it is by accident or by design. Either eventuality presents the same degree of futility. There is not a thing we can do about it.

A new man on the job changed the frequency and amount of work being sent each time to a group of workers in the suburbs. The first few shipments were inefficient due to this change which resulted in lesser work actually shipped out.

A few days later, a woman in the suburbs was on her way for her morning grocery shopping. But she had forgotten her basket and went back to get it. When she had gotten the basket, the phone had rang. So she stopped to answer it and talked for a couple of minutes.

While the woman was on the phone, Naveen was preparing lunch at home for his wife at work.

While he was cooking, the woman was off the phone now and had gone outside to her waiting husband in the car. But while she was momentarily distracted in locking the gate which took a handful of seconds more than usual, her husband hurriedly decided to drive their other smaller car instead.

Now while her husband was getting the smaller car ready, the woman got into the car just in time. The husband, who had been waiting for a long while, decided it best to take the smaller car to save on petrol, anticipating a long day doing groceries with his wife since the woman had been pretty slow so far.

All the while, Naveen was cooking.

The couple drove and had to stop for a boy crossing the street who left for his football game 15 minutes later than he normally did because he forgot to set his alarm. While that boy, late for his game was crossing the street, Naveen had finished cooking and was getting ready to do some house chores until noon before sending the lunch to his wife.

And while Naveen was taking out the garbage, the house phone rang. He picked up the call and his wife informed that work would end before lunch; a lot earlier than it normally would that day because there was not enough of work to go around from the new change in shipments. Her supervisor had sent all his workers home early because they were on hourly wages.

Naveen was already on his bike to pick up his wife home.

The husband earlier was waiting outside a bakery for the woman to pick up a cake which had not been packaged yet because the girl who was supposed to do it had broken up with her boyfriend the night before, and forgot. When the cake was packaged, the woman was back in the car, which was blocked by a delivery truck.

All the while Naveen was driving.

Then the delivery truck pulled away and the couple in the car was able to move. While Naveen, the last to queue up behind some motorcycles at the traffic light, waited patiently for the bike in front to restart its engine when it suddenly died off during the wait for the green light.

Nearby was the couple approaching the traffic light as Naveen finally moved along.

And if only one thing had happened differently, if the bike's engine had not died off; or that delivery truck had moved moments earlier; or that cake had been packaged and ready because the girl had not broken up with her boyfriend; or the new man on the job had ensured the workers had enough work to go by; or the boy had set his alarm and got up 15 minutes earlier; or the husband had not decided to change cars; or that woman had remembered her basket and locked the gate faster; Naveen would have crossed the street and the couple would have driven by.

But life being what it is - a series of intercepting lives and incidents out of anyone's control. The couple did not go by and the husband was momentarily distracted as Naveen unknowingly followed the bike in front across the street when the lights just turned red. And that couple hit Naveen.

He died on the way to the hospital but his wife was informed that he was in a critical condition at the hospital. Close family members withheld the truth until she was safely there for fear of her emotions affecting her judgment.

Naveen left behind a faithful wife - Prema, and four loving, and bright daughters with the youngest being six and the oldest at sixteen.

About a month ago, I discovered that a man's errors are his portals of discovery.