It was a Saturday morning. I was on my way to my friend's house to celebrate his birthday. I was intoxicated with joy. The joy of playing with my friend filled my mind. I was waiting for the north-bound train that was heading to Hougang. Every second was like half an hour to me.
"When is the train arriving?" I questioned myself every few minutes.
The rumbling of the train rose in a crescendo. The train was arriving.
"Finally!" I muttered under my breath.
I boarded the train, I noticed that there were no more seats left. Being a sheer nine-year-old child, I could not hold the pole without losing my grip. I grabbed on the pole firmly and hoped that someone would spare a kind thought and give me his seat. But sadly, no one did.
The train sped off. However hard I tried, my little hand could not hold on fast to the pole which was too thick for my hand. Swaying from side to side, I knocked against other standing passengers umpteen times. When the train gave a jerk without warning, my hand lost grip of the pole that sent me hurtling to the floor with a big thud. I instinctively blocked the fall with my arms. The commuters continued to mind their own businesses. Those who were more bothered did nothing more than watching me fall. A few more evil ones laughed at me even though their heads hurt from banging the window.
"How selfish of them!" I muttered to myself, embarrassed and angered.
After trying to get up a few times with little success, a kind commuter decided that I could have his seat.
"Thank you," I said, smiling weakly.
Some of the other commuters thought that they could have given me their seats instead of laughing at me. Sheepishly, they said sorry and hoped that I would forgive them. While waiting for the train to stop at Hougang, I thought about the kind commuter and learnt that I should be kind and generous.
My friends birthday was a blast and you know what? The kind commuter turned out to be my friend's uncle.
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