Hope

The India poetry circle's WhatsApp group  gave a challenge to its members to write a drabble every day for a week starting January 4th 2026. A drabble is a 100 word story with a beginning, middle and end. However, being a  first attempt the word limit was fixed as anywhere between 100 to 200 words. 

Courtesy: Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

He had lost his job. His wife abandoned him, six months after the crisis. They had no children and his parents were long deceased. An only brother hated him on account of long standing sibling rivalry. What is the point of living? For whom should he live?, he asked himself and moved towards the sea with a single track mind. 

 Then a folk story he had learnt at school flashed through his mind *"Turn again Whittington, Lord Mayor of London". He turned back. He would live for the society, humanity at large. Next morning he received a communication informing of dream job commensurate with his experience. (104 words) 

*NB: The  Dick Whittington story is about an orphan who facing lot of adversities decide to leave the city of London. As he is leaving, he hears the church bells ring to the chimes "Turn again Whittington, Lord Mayor of London". Subsequently it turns out that a ship loaded with merchandise for sale at distant lands also had a cat of Dick. At one place the people who were struggling with rat menace were overjoyed to welcome Dick's cat and overnight Dick became a rich man. The story was written after a real life mayor who served with distinction for three terms doing lot of welfare activities for the city.