Short Story - Selling Refrigerator
Junaid Tahir
Short Story - Selling Refrigerator
A few days ago, I was sitting with a friend who deals in used electronics (buying and selling second-hand items). That's when a man wa...
A few days ago, I was sitting with a friend who deals in used electronics (buying and selling second-hand items). That's when a man walked in with an old refrigerator. At first, it seemed like any other transaction. But then came the reason, and it stayed with me.
"I don't want to sell it," he said quietly, avoiding eye contact. "But I haven't paid my house rent in three months. If I don't come up with something soon, I'll be evicted."
He wasn't upgrading or clearing out space. He was just trying to survive. That fridge was one of the few things he had left to turn into cash.
My friend bought it from him. And I ended up chipping in a small amount through my friend.. nothing big, just what I could manage at the time. Still, as I handed it over, I felt a knot in my chest. It wasn't the transaction that hit me. It was how silently financial pressure sits beside us every day, invisible until someone is pushed to sell even their refrigerator.
It also made me reflect on something else: a lot of us in Pakistan, myself included, more often than I'd like to admit—tend to think of helping others in terms of big donations or organized charities. But sitting there that day, I wondered… what if the most urgent need is usually right in front of us, inside informal networks? People who never ask for help publicly until they're already deep in crisis.
This brings me to something I've been thinking about ever since: it is our moral responsibility to keep a quiet eye on our own circle, our neighbourhood, our father's side relatives, our mother's side relatives, the cousins living in villages, our childhood friends we no longer call regularly. Don't wait for them to beg. Don't ask for receipts or proof. Just notice. And when you see someone struggling, help them silently. Leave the camera at home. No social media post. No noble announcement. Some deeds are meant to stay only between you and God. Those are the ones that heal both the giver and the receiver. Because in the end, the most sacred charity is the one no one ever knows about—except the one who needed it, and the One who saw you give it.
edited and personal thoughts added
حضرت مولانا یوسف صاحب ر حمہ اللہ کے زمانے کا قصہ ھے کہ ان کے زمانے میں مہنگائی بہت بڑھ گئی۔ کچھ لوگ مولانا کے پاس آئے اور مہنگائی کی شکا...
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