A few weeks back, on a Saturday morning, I saw my car tyre being flat. I was in a hurry. Thanks to my neighbour, I rode a two-wheeler, got a puncture fixing boy. He didn’t have the tools to attend my problem; instead, he replaced the flat tyre with a Stepney, the only one present. He took the flat tyre with him and said he would get it fixed.

Ten days went by; I hadn’t been to the shop to pick it up. Busy…. I do not know what busy means these days. I know it is different for different people. If I look back, I should have picked it up. I was lazy…. Let’s face it.

“My uncle was undergoing an operation at St.Johns hospital. My mom wanted to see how he was doing. That evening I came home early so that we could go. It was 730 pm, and we were suddenly on our way to the hospital. Suddenly, I sensed a feeling of imbalance. I thought the roads were bumpy, but it wasn’t, and I stopped the car on the side.

The rear left tyre was flat. I was livid for a moment, say a few seconds. Reality does bite hard. It bites me soon enough at times to calm me down quickly.

Luckily, a few meters ahead, I saw a puncture shop. Since there was no Stepney, the tyre had to be fixed, and it was courtesy of a long nail, the tyre was punctured. Two tiny holes were enough to get the tyre flat. He set it.”

We could manage to meet our uncle, although he wasn’t in a position to recognize us. Such situations cannot be explained. It has to be experienced; one can empathize.

On our way back, it was 1030 in the night. I could sense a similar vibration, and to my guess, it was right a flat tyre. Again!!!

I expected front left tyre, but to my surprise, it was the same tyre that got its attention a few hours back. Turn left; it was a puncture shop.

He had some latest mechanical tools that could fix this problem in significantly less time.

I realized how lucky I was. “Tomorrow is a big day; I have to drive long distance, what if something happens and I am stuck in the middle of now where with no Stepney”, wondered I.

Karma undoubtedly ensured I wasn’t punished for my laziness. I learnt an important lesson, not to ignore certain things that seem so unimportant from outside.

The previous guy failed to sense there was another tiny hole, tiniest of cavities.

The new guy fixed the tyre. Off we went.

The next day, I wasn’t left with many options. I had to rush to my customer early. I was cautious about my driving. Two days later, I got my Stepney back. It was a relief.

Lessons come through actions; they are learnt more through our own mistakes than wisdom.

I do not know how well I would have learnt from this, but I thought this was something I could share.