Smile An Everlasting Smile

I met her for the first time as a part of corporate training at my erstwhile company.

We were both in the same training batch, and as a part of the training course, we ended up spending quite some time together. She always had a very somber look. However, I did notice that her work was meticulous; she appeared to be someone who was sincere and committed to her work. She was a regular in the training, but somehow she was always by herself, not one to mix with people, having her meals by herself and going back home as soon as the training completed. And to top it all, she had a very expressionless face.

I became inquisitive. I wondered what her challenges were that she hardly smiled, what must have happened in her life that she wouldn’t even smile, forget laughing? It was much later that I came to know that she had had a troubled life as a young girl child.

Something about her struck me, maybe I saw myself in her. There was something which drew me towards her and had always made me want to reach out to her. Gradually, I tried to befriend her, making it a point to talk to her every day for few minutes after the training, asking her about her day, what she planned to do after going back home.