There lived a man who earned his living by selling bakery items.
The town turned mad for the taste of this legendary baker’s cakes and pastries. And, more than the taste he added to his food ingredients, he was so humble, modest and down to earth when it comes to dealing and treating his customers, or even any person just walked in to his shop.
He used to turn on to his bakery as early as 4:30am everyday and remained till 12 midnight; without even a single day off, throughout a week, or even a month, or even years altogether.
Each day, the baker felt, as if the whole town is dying to eat his bakery and they cannot live without the slightest of aroma from his magically baked food. His expectation and fondness to his customers went even to the extend, that, he used to offer free snacks at many occasions just to keep a pool of people always in his bakery floor. And, this baker has a special knack to make feel each of the potential customers very special by offering them customized cakes and snacks and taking care of their suggestion to be even better. All this made them happy and they convincingly converted to be a regular customer in a very short span of time.
Days passed, months passed, years passed.
One day, as early a morning as even before 4am, the baker was about to leave his home in hurry to serve his town men with a magic recipe he got while bathing, from, as he put it, heavens. Contrary to everyday wishing a great business day, his wife held the baker with certain concern. It was to accompany her to take their only son to hospital who was suffering from severe fever that lasted more than a week. As well expected from this dedicated-workaholic baker, he ignored her call. His feeling and priority was only to answer the inner call to serve the town men with his wonderful food and beverage service. He ran to the shop with a regret of 30 mins delay happened while arguing with his wife whether to accompany her to hospital or not, and, how important it is for him to serve the society with good food at this very needed time.
Sooner he reached bakery, daily routine followed. Thick dense baked aroma left the tiny little chimney of that corner shop attracting more and more people to his tasty food vicinity.
Through the flowery curtained window the baker saw a boy running towards his kitchen. As the boy introduced himself, he happened to be the baker’s neighbor. And he has a message to break. The message hit his ear; “your son has taken his last breath on the way to hospital!”
The baker broke and fell on the ground. He even uttered some words carelessly, which the gathering surrounded heard something like, “all the dedication, hard-work and business I kept for my dear and only son to enjoy his future, and don’t have to struggle like me, oh Almighty, and you have called him back so soon!”
Later when he could gather some consciousness, that he could see was his wife’s white pale tired face.
Days and months went by, and the baker was recovering from the mental trauma of loosing his only son. The recovery was very slow, and his medical expenses were taken care by his wife doing some house hold works to the neighbourhood. Even though the baker worked hard and dedicated his complete life to bake amazing foods, he never saved anything for future. He invested, reinvested and invested to experiment varieties of food and ways of cooking.
Months of isolated life, and life away from bakery and his beloved town-people, suffocated him. Each day “wasted”, as he used to call it, without serving people of the town with his tasty food spell, was like a prison life for him. The day he could gather some confidence and energy to take his first feet on the ground, he cruised with lightening speed to his shop.
The scene that presented before him after such a long gap of recovery, through his aged shivering and tired eyes was even harder for him than loosing his only son! His shop has taken by the cracks and grasses of all sorts. Cats and dogs wandering inside out. And, the bakery right across his shop, which he barely noticed in his high time, has prospered to its peak. Many of his beloved town-men is enjoying the new bakery and its offerings.
The old retired baker took his route back cursing his stupidity of taking his family for granted and falling blind for his baking talent and serving it to the society.
This can be a fictional story that never happened, or a reflection to many of us who dedicates our life to work, ignoring family, and the dear ones. In fact, a baker lives in many of us. But, plot and the climax we can re-write. Remember one thing, work, business or earning; each is to support our family and life, not the other way around.
Published in PatlaMujeeb.Wordpress.com (March 28, 2018)
Mujeeb Patla 