Keep a seashell close to your ear

 Keep a seashell close to your ear.

The sound you hear 
Is it the sea or  the ocean?
Neither is it the sea nor is it the ocean
The sound is your blood surging.

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The next 24 hours were crucial, it was make or break time.
He knew also that the law of averages was in his favor if he held his nerve.

The determination and  desire to excel welled up in him.
Check list -  formal clothes, tie and shoes borrowed from his room mate (he vowed to replace it), briefcase with his documents, passport, driving license, all were in order.
Now he had to see it to the logical end, he echoed silently.

The throng of job hunters seemed endless. Determined to keep his cool, he sent up a prayer and joined the long line of job seekers at the Employment Opportunity Fair he was attending with his close fiend Shankar.
The ear splitting wail of the ambulance had them scattering in all directions.
Some one was seriously injured, intuitively he started running behind the ambulance, totally ignoring the shouts of his well meaning friend, Shankar.
The hospital was just a block away in the crowded market and he saw Mr. Menon being lifted and carried in, blood dripping amidst shouts of 'Make way, move out.'
I have to be there, he decided as he saw the white faces of family members.
 

They needed blood now was the verdict flashed on the Hospital display board.

He volunteered and went inside praying with an intensity he had not summoned even for the interview. The wait seemed endless, watching the family huddled  together, he remembered their kindness when he was orphaned, how they had taken him in and made him partake of all the daily meals.

Almost four hours later Menons' son, Balan walked out with the doctor from the ICU theater. 
Smiles all around. Miraculously the patient had survived and was now stable.

He left as silently as he came without talking to anyone there.
 

The queue was almost over but Shankar stood there looking out for his friend.
"Come on, made it by the skin of your teeth, he whispered. Go on in, here I have filled out the forms, do well".

So saying, Shankar moved aside.

He walked in head held high, his answers were crisp and to the point. 

"You have stated that your focus, determination to see things through, eye for detail and confidence as well as academic performance is your conviction that you are the person for the vacancy we have. Why were you not here when your name was announced?"

Silence filled the room, he remembered his deceased mother's  refrain to never make excuses. 

'My sincere apologies sir' was the quiet reply.

Walking back he met Shankar, they silently made their way back home, each deep into his own thoughts.

The white envelope looked too heavy to be a reject letter, he decided as later in the week he slit open the official intimation.  He had been selected as project assistant at the Informatics Center in the heart of Chennai. Shankar too beamed as he waved his own selection letter and hugged him.
" I knew you would be selected, brother" he whispered.

 But what, how? The signature made little sense to him then as he thanked Fate for his selection.

The CEO was an entrepreneur who studied the everyday happenings in and around the marketplace. He heard discussions of how a young man had saved a life and was the talk of the town. A brief inquiry revealed details.

 The honesty of the lad who had accepted his being late for the appointment that day without showcasing his action as an excuse or achievement touched a nerve in his memory.

His rare honesty made him a worthy addition to the Company.


The young boy went on to become a respected and honored senior member of the Company and an asset to the Nation. 

Gratitude and a sense of self worth helps one succeed in Life.