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THE SALT OF SACRIFICE

Once upon a time, there lived a poor widow with only a barren hen remaining for her survival in a village. She kept herself in quietness, suffering from kidney failure. The doctors advised her that the only way out was a kidney transplant. This gave the widow a very hard time, even when she asked for help from those who were able. 

One day, she decided to find a solution to her problems. She wanted to explain her condition to her friends and relatives as a last resort. She invited them to a Thanksgiving party. When the day finally came, she killed her only hen and prepared a very delicious dish. 

One of those sitting around the table got out for a break, and the woman served them a plate each, informing them that out of the 8 plates of food she had served, one plate had no salt. "If the plate is yours, just bear with the situation because the salt couldn't be served equally; hence, it got finished," she said in the absence of the eighth guest, who was outside for a short call. 

When the other man returned, unknowingly, he washed his hands and began to enjoy the food while the rest were deeply struggling to identify who could be eating the food without salt, yet they all didn't have salt in their soup. The man who came from outside, upon tasting the chicken soup, felt discomfort due to the lack of salt. He immediately asked for salt, and that's when the rest realised they too didn't have salt in their dishes.

When they asked the widow for salt, she calmly said, "I haven't had salt for the past two weeks. I only invited you to share with me the last part of my life so that I could leave in peace. I couldn't get salt because I already had enough struggle, and I had to kill the only hen that failed to lay eggs for me." 

Surprised by the widow's strange behaviour, everyone soon contributed some money to the woman. Others promised an empowerment project for the woman so that she could do business for a living. 

While others were discussing necessary solutions, the woman took 100 SSP and rushed to buy salt. She tripped on a stone and fell to her death on her way back. Through the doorway, every guest was shocked by the incident and quickly dispersed. Soon, the police surrounded the area and arrested 10 suspects in the home for questioning, including six of the eight guests.

Ayella John Bosco, Writer/Critic/Teacher. 

This story conveys a warning about the late response to support those in need. Your timely support, and  empathy could save a generation of nations

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