It was a quiet market. I saw it closing as I walked towards the checkout I had in my sights. I could turn to other checkouts with a reflex, but I didn’t. I waited for the woman who gathered a few pieces of the product in front of the checkout which suddenly closed. I would have liked to be given priority to me if I were her.
I stood a few steps behind for her to pass, then got in the line of the new checkout, behind her.
She didn’t see me.
The buttermilk dropped onto the floor and exploded as she placed the products on her lap. The buttermilk spilled all over the young people in front of her.
“It doesn’t matter”, they said with great sweetness. They started wiping the liquid with a piece of paper they found.
She didn’t see them either. She quickly returned to the aisle to buy a new bottle of buttermilk.
During that rush, the biscuit package she had taken fell between the shelves in front of the checkout. I took it out of there and put it in front of the checkout. Otherwise, she would probably forget it.
She didn’t see that either.
When it was her turn, she wasn’t there yet. I proceeded when the cashier made the move to get the three pieces in my hand. My first product was scanned and…
She came over running: “Excuse meee! It was my turn!”.
She was angry at me. I calmly said that we started the process because she had not come yet and I withdrew. The cashier had to cancel my first product she had scanned.
At that moment she came to reason and said, “anyway, go on!” reluctantly.
Now, why did I tell that much detail?
Certainly, not to say “I am a good, kind, thoughtful person” … There are times that I cannot be, even if I do my best…
Life was very kind to that woman through us at that time. Her turn was observed, she was not blamed for something accidental, and her products that spilled out were collected.
However, her focus was only on herself. On her products, on her turn, and on sorting her things out and leave….
While all these events were happening in this brief moment, all she could see was “the seizing of her turn”.
As we do most of the time in our lives… As we assume that what we don’t see does not happen and we see the negatives – according to us – with our eyes mostly.
However, life always helps…
Whether we see it or not…
Published in the 31st issue of Pozitif Magazine, July 2019
what do you think?