“Karma’s Swift Justice”:
By Lokanath Mishra:
I was recently sitting in a busy park in Katy, Texas, when an old guy struck up a conversation with me. He had a twinkle in his eye, and as we chatted, he began to tell me a story from his past.
“The memory of that day still feels like it was yesterday, even though it’s been 60 years,” he said with a nostalgic smile. “I was working on a building site in central London, right behind the iconic John Lewis store. It was mid-afternoon, and the traffic light was controlling the flow of cars and pedestrians.”
As he continued his story, he told me about one of his old friends, John, who was dressed in a full 3-piece suit, carrying a rolled umbrella, and wearing a bowler hat. John stepped into the road without using a pedestrian crossing, holding up his umbrella to stop the traffic. However, his plan didn’t quite work out as he thought.
A Mini Cooper came to an abrupt halt to avoid hitting him, and the driver, a feisty young woman, emerged from the car. She calmly walked up to John, picked him up by the shirt front with one hand, and carried him back to the pavement from where he had started. John’s feet dangled in the air as he was lifted, and then the driver put him down and punched him squarely in the face, knocking him out cold.
The old guy chuckled as he recounted the story, clearly still amused by the incident. “The driver’s actions were swift and precise,” he said. “She carefully arranged John’s unconscious body on the pavement and then got back into her car and drove off.”
The old guy’s eyes sparkled with mirth as he recalled the reaction of his coworkers. “The crew I was working with couldn’t stop laughing about the whole incident,” he said. “It was a moment of instant karma that none of us would ever forget.”
As we sat in the park, I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the story. The old guy smiled, seeming to enjoy the retelling of his tale. “These days, things might play out differently,” he said with a wistful sigh. “But back then, it was a memorable display of consequences for one’s actions.”