The old man at the puncture shop, looked at me with quiet patience as I stood at his shop. “Quick!” I shouted, “get the puncture done! I have a busy day ahead!” He gave me another patient look, a quiet smile, and beckoned me to sit on the bench, next to some old tires. “I have no time to sit” I shouted. “I have so many things to do!”
The old man smiled at me. “Sir” he said, “that’s why the puncture happened.”
“You mean I was meant to be troubled?” I asked angrily.
“No” said the old man, as he quietly put my tire on to the ground, “you were meant to rest awhile!”
“I have other things to do than rest,” I said. “I didn’t need this puncture.”
“Sir!”, said the old man, “I have repaired punctures throughout my life, and have never seen anyone who wanted a puncture to take place.”
“Who, ever would want a puncture to take place?” I asked sarcastically.
The old man smiled as he looked into my face. “It is a theory I have developed sir, that a puncture is nature’s way of saying you need a break!”
“Couldn’t nature use a better method?” I asked sarcastically, looking at my watch.
“I am sure she tried,” said the old man, “but did you ever listen? Look at how you are rushing to work. Look at how you are fretting and fuming! I am sure at this rate I may soon be repairing the puncture of the ambulance taking you to the hospital, or the hearse carrying you to your final resting place!”
I looked at the old man and noticed that though he talked, he worked with a quiet rhythm and efficiency. “You are a philosopher,” I said. “But I’m listening.”
“When you got your puncture”, said the old man, “you cursed your car, kicked your tires and then cried inside with frustration?”
“Yes” I admitted.
“Then you saw my little shop?”
“I was lucky your shop was nearby”.
“We puncture wallahs are always nearby. But did you realize that you were suddenly made to forcibly stop and take a rest?”
“I guess that’s what is happening,” I said. “But what about my appointments? My work?”
“Can wait,” said the puncture man. “Nature realized you needed a break, and before your body blew up, your tire did.”
The old man left the tube under his machine and came to me. “Have a cup of tea sir,” he said. “I do rightly think that whenever you are forced to get delayed, either a puncture, or having to take shelter without an umbrella, or even a flu and a few days in bed is nature’s safety valve!”
I smiled, sipped the tea and very distinctly heard my heart give a sigh of relief in getting some forced rest, as I watched the philosopher at work..!

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