A missed train journey

Sometimes life's journey can get very tricky. I decided to share this real story which conveys how one decision can have some serious repercussions.

There was a retired police official who had held a very high post while in service. But after retirement and with age, his memory started deteriorating. He would go to the market and forget his way back or have his meals yet complain that he has not eaten anything etc. This became a matter of huge concern for his family members. So they decided to do something for him to be safer, at least when he goes out. For this, they always put his official name tag around his neck which gave details like his name, address, his official status etc. Another precaution they took was not to send him anywhere alone. So if he had to travel somewhere, he would be accompanied by his nephew who was more than willing to do this much for his beloved uncle.

Now, on this particular occasion, he wanted to go out of station for some important unavoidable event. The train tickets were confirmed and as usual, his nephew accompanied him although the uncle wasn't too keen on taking anyone's support but the aunt convinced him not to travel alone. So he had to take his nephew along. Now the nephew was given the directions not to leave his side, but on one of the stations, the uncle commanded his official disposition and ordered him to stay put while he went and got something to eat at the station. The nephew was helpless and had to obey his high-ranking uncle. While the uncle was still paying for the meal, he heard the train siren and saw his train moving away from the platform. Seeing this he became very anxious and immediately went out of the station and narrated his situation to one of the taxi drivers, stating that his wallet, money, ticket, everything was left behind on the train and requested him to drive him following the missed train. The taxi driver did his best but they got held at the barrier where the road was blocked for the coming train to pass. Seeing his train leaving in front of his eyes, the uncle got even more nervous leading to high blood pressure. In this confusion he instructed the driver to drive on to the next station and as fate had it, they again got blocked at the railway junction and once again saw their train going past them. This led to immense stress for the uncle and he started breathing heavily. The taxi driver asked him what were the further instructions and on not receiving a response, when he looked back, he saw his passenger unconscious in the back seat. He immediately drove to the nearest hospital but on arrival, they found that the elderly passenger soul had already traveled to its next destination!

The hospital staff laid the body on the corridor and informed the police as was the procedure. When the police arrived and checked the whereabouts of the deceased, they immediately saluted in front of the body, identifying their senior. The hospital staff was instructed to respectfully lay him on the bed. The family was informed and necessary steps were taken to get him back to his place. The kind driver was thanked profusely for his actions towards helping the uncle but everyone agreed that in the face of fate, we all are helpless. This story when narrated to me, made me ponder over the fact that the journey which the elderly had planned, booked and paid for was to have such major twists which would lead him to his final journey!

Is that not what our lives are all about? We plan, arrange, and look forward to all those events in our life yet how much of these will be expressed in reality is such a big unknown!