It was late evening when he received the call. Usually, he doesn't attend unknown numbers after 6.30 pm, but this time he did.
The lady on the other side introduced herself and said she got his number from her friend in the village. Hurriedly, she asked if she could get some work that she could do from home, like quilting or tailoring.
With his further enquiry, she revealed that she and her husband had grown onions this year. It was as big as a light bulb, but unfortunately, untimely heavy rain destroyed their crop, hence the need for work.
Despite feeling helpless, he promised to look into it. Overwhelmed, she thanked him, almost choked, and said something that he couldn't hear. He immediately disconnected the phone so that she could breathe properly.
Later, to distract himself, when he started browsing social media, he saw an image posted by one of his acquaintances with the caption "Life is bliss when you are sitting by the window looking at the rain outside with your favourite book, chai and hot onion-pakoda"
That's when the grief hit him. Uff...these onions can bring tears!
