It was around midnight. My siblings, our mother and I had this crazy idea to go out and get some snacks for our midnight hunger from the shop just around the corner.

The street was still alive with people walking, some vendors still sitting at their shops at the corner of the street and the streetlights shining brightly.

As we all settled in the car and were about to start it, my youngest brother suddenly asked our mother, “Do you want to buy a burger deal?”

This, of course, left us all confused because, firstly, we hadn’t talked about getting any deal or burger and, secondly, we weren’t planning to go that far. We were just going to the corner of our street, where there was no fast-food outlet.

We asked my brother what he meant. He told us that there was a food delivery rider just outside our gate selling a deal. This left us even more curious because delivery riders usually don’t sell food like that, so we called him and asked what he was selling.

The rider showed us the food he was selling. Still confused, we asked him how he could be selling the food when riders usually deliver it.

It turned out that someone had made a pretty big order from a food delivery platform. When the rider reached the given address, no one opened the door. And when he called the customer, their phone was switched off. The rider kept trying for quite some time, but no one answered.

The food chain’s policies were quite strict and did not take responsibility for such situations or take the food back. Usually, the riders had to pay the bill themselves.

Disappointed, he was left with no choice but to either pay from his own pocket or sell the food to recover the amount.

We sympathised with the poor guy and bought the food. There was a lot in the bag, and it was cold — a sign of how long the rider must have been out there trying to sell it. Think about how much energy and effort he must have put in, and how disappointed he must have felt after facing rejection from people. He may have travelled from one street to another, burning fuel along the way, and it was already midnight. The exhaustion, disappointment and sadness were clearly visible on his face.

I understand that there are two sides to every story, and maybe the customer’s phone died or something. But there were ways they could have prevented this whole situation and contacted him.

Maybe it was a prank, but shouldn’t a prank be funny, where everyone laughs and no one has to face humiliation or punishment?

This whole situation could have been prevented, and if it was intentional, then that is even more heartbreaking. Why trouble someone? Why make someone’s life harder? We don’t know what someone else might be going through.

This situation was a lesson as well as a reminder that we need to be kind to each other and be considerate.

It also made me realise how blessed we are that we don’t have to worry about so many things; they are already taken care of before we even think about them. We are also blessed to be able to help those in need. And yet, we sometimes complain about the things we don’t have.

So, this was a reminder to always be grateful, because maybe the life we’re living is the dream life of someone else.

Published in Dawn, Young World, October 3rd, 2026