David's Turn

If there was one thing David hated more than going to the dentist, it was shopping for fresh vegetables. Shifting to India had not been something he and his wife Laura had taken kindly to. They missed London. Travelling in the tube had been replaced by travelling in the local train, the clean roads replaced by streets that would have been mistaken for garbage dumps back in London.
But the worst was grocery shopping. While most things were easily available at the corner shop, for some strange reason, the Indians insisted on selling vegetables in an open market they called subzi mandi. Sure, the bigger supermarkets did house the same vegetables for sale, but the rates were steep and Laura and David couldn't afford luxuries yet. This particular chore was on nobody's favourites list and they finally compromised that to be fair, they would take turns to get it out of the way.
That particular Friday, it was David's turn and since morning he had been dreading getting off work. Loud, shrill voices of vendors , the flies that invariably settled on the wares, and the wayward rotten tomato that always met its end under David's foot welcomed him to the mandi.
He stood at the entrance with his empty cloth bag that would soon be brimming over the top with his purchases for the day. Taking a deep breath , he ventured forth and started haggling with a woman over the price of cucumbers.
Forty five minutes later, he took out his list from his trouser pocket and checked one last time for any items he might have missed. Satisfied, he neatly folded his list and replaced it while trying to find his way out of the open market.
As soon as David reached his car he felt someone tugging at his trousers. He impatiently turned around and realized it was a child. David had been warned about beggars and peddlers by his colleagues at work, but this child, a girl no more than five, didn't look like a beggar to him. She was smartly dressed in a white and pink frock and had ribbons in her hair. She was wearing thick children's sunglasses, the kind that balloon vendors sold in India.
David could see she was scared and feared she would start crying any moment. She was obviously lost and he felt he couldn't possibly leave her wandering there alone.
He bent down to face her and asked softly," Are you lost, dear?"
"No, I'm not losted, Mommy is losted," she replied.
David smiled at her innocence and gently patted her head.
"Well, lets look for your losted, I mean, lost Mommy then, shall we," he said offering his hand.
The little girl smiled," You help?"
"Yes dear, I will. Now whats your name?" David asked, pulling his hand back when he realized the girl was not going to take it.
"Baby."
"Haha...okay baby, it would be easier for us to find your Mommy if we went together, so why don't we hold hands and look for her," David said , taking the little girl's hand.
He took her to the main entrance and asked ,"Do you see your Mommy, baby?"
"No," she said simply.
"Hmm.....then we might have to go inside."
They went inside and each time David asked her if she saw her mother anywhere, Baby gave him the same response. No.
"I wanta go home," Baby said after more than half an hour had passed.
"We can't leave your Mommy here alone, can we?" David tried to reason with her.
"Mommy near car."
"Well, then let's head for the parking lot instead of wasting our time here," David's patience was running thin.
"Children! The same everywhere. Brats!" he thought to himself.

As soon as they reached the parking area, he saw a number of people huddled together in one corner.
"Probably an accident," he thought to himself, deciding that if he didn't find the child's mother in the next 5 minutes, he would take her to the nearest police station.
He then heard the sound of a woman wailing coming from the centre of the huge gathering of people.
He couldn't make out what she was crying about because she was saying something in the Indian native tongue he hadn't even begun to master yet.
One of the men gathered around the woman suddenly started pointing at David and yelling something. David was initially taken aback but then realized that it could mean only one thing. The crying woman was Baby's mother and the man had recognized the girl from the description the lady would have given of the child.
David led Baby to the centre of the small crowd and the mother rushed to her lost child, smothering her with kisses and comforting words.
She finally looked at David and said," Bless you! Where did you find her?"
"Well, to be honest, she found me. We've been looking for you since almost the last one hour. Have you been standing next to your car all this while?" David said, allowing his irritation reflect in his words.
"No, of course not,"the lady replied," We've been searching for her all over the place too. But this is a huge place. Though if I'm not mistaken, I did see you more than once this evening."
"I am probably the only white man in this market. How could you miss me?" David said.
"I'm sorry. I just didn't think that my child would be with someone like you," the lady apologized.
"How did she know you'd be here?" David enquired.
"I told her that if she ever got lost she must tell someone to take her where all the cars are," the lady replied pointing towards a man Baby was now hugging ," Her father was looking for her in the parking lot while I searched inside"
"What puzzles me," said David, softening a bit," how come your child didn't once see any of you either? The parking lot is not that big"
The lady looked at him in bewilderment and said," How could she? Baby can't see at all."

That night while driving back home , David silently thanked the Lord for making him go to the mandi that day. He was glad that it was his turn. To do a good deed.