A True Friend at Work

A True Friend at Work

He was not any ordinary friend at work. Let me call him Anand. A man who worked selflessly and was liked by many for his brand of friendship. He never asked anything from anyone and was always available. We called him the connector. He could easily connect you to anyone anywhere and what was nice, was the way he did it – the most simple and direct of ways. He was not a party man and seldom attended any of these and kept away from public glare.

I was working late one day – one of those days where one had to finish things no matter how long it took. It was a long Friday night and I had ordered some food. Others had left. The night seemed short. There was so much to do. At around 4 am, I decided to call it a day. As I moved to the door of the floor, I saw Anand at his cubicle. I was taken aback. I did not expect him. He smiled and asked if my work was done. I laughed and told him that work was like waves on the shores – ceaseless.

I then asked him as to what kept him so long. His response shook me up. He said that he was waiting for me to finish up and wanted to make sure someone was around in case he needed any help. “ But I didn’t want anyone to wait for me,” I protested. He said that it did not matter. And Anand was not even from my function, and had nothing to do work-wise with me. He just did not want to leave me all by myself. I gave him a warm hug, and my eyes all but moistened. I thanked him profusely. He cared about me, he did.

I escorted him to his bike and he left soon after. As I started my scooter and headed home, Anand was all over my mind. He had stayed up just to make sure that I had some support. A true friend at work. Reminded me of my mother who stayed up many a night when I was studying for my exams. What a man! Could I even be a tenth of this what this man does! I reached home and fell into a deep thought of the many who are around at work, who put in their might in a selfless way. Not even caring if they are recognized for it or not!  Many like Anand – a true friend at ‘work’.