A feeble smile is still a happy smile

I turned out of CTE at Moulmein road only to see a group of 4 crowding around a frail old lady sitting on the road side kerb. The group of people was trying to flag for a cab.

Instinctively, I pulled over (to the detriment of traffic ) thinking that the old lady was injured and needed a lift somewhere (like to the hospital). And so, I was faced with a family of 3 Indians and a middle aged Chinese man trying to communicate with the old lady.

The old lady was clad in pajamas, having nothing with her except a plastic bag that contained a $10 dollar note. I was worried that the old lady might be suffering from dementia and wandered out of home to the detriment of her family members. The fact that she wanted to hail a cab to go to a place which I can't seem to find on the road map or heard before worried me further.

I told the group of people that perhaps calling the police would be the best option. While they attempted to get the police to drop by, I spent a good 5 minute squatting beside the road kerb, braving the onslaught of traffic to find out more from the old lady.

All I could gather was that she was tired from trying to flag a cab and that her hip hurt from a recent operation. But that doesn't matter. Because she was smiling a feeble but genuine smile despite the ordeal. And that made me happy. At least she wasn't in distress.

And so, I left the group to wait for the police to arrive and continued on my way (my car was beginning to hinder traffic)

I hope things will be fine for the old lady. I'm sure it will.