Then she saw her best friend's face

She was nervous. It was 3.30 in the morning. The bus stand was rather quiet – shops were mostly closed, the people who just arrived with her mostly had went on their own way. For the hundredth time she wished she had taken an earlier bus from Kota Bharu just so to avoid this difficult situation. But she had little choice – the bus she took was the only one left with available seats.

She walked to the taxi stand, thinking of getting a cab. All of a sudden, horror stories involving cab drivers she had heard about began to haunt her mind. She convinced herself that surely there must be at least one friendly-looking cabbie who she could trust enough not to cause harm. She looked at the group of cabbies and immediately saw that there was no apparent concern for her. There she was, feeling lost and alone in Hentian Putra, a Kelantanese girl in her twenties who was unsure of how things work in after-midnight KL, desperately needing a guaranteed-safe-and-secured ride back to the campus in Bukit Kiara.

Then she saw her best friend’s face. The one she knew she could count on in desperate moments. The one who would be there to comfort her when she’s in pain. The one who would not mind picking her up from the bus station at 4.00 in the morning.

She quickly dialed up the number.

“Hello,” a groggy voice answered the call.

“Hi, it's me. I'm kind of stuck and I… well, I didn't know who else to call. I just arrived at Hentian Putra. It's kind of quiet. There’s not many people around. The cabbies look kind of dodgy. I’m so scared…”

“Wait there. Don’t go anywhere dark. Stay in the open area where I can see you. I’ll be there in a while”. The friend was all of a sudden fully awake, her voice crisp and alert.

She did not have to wait long before her friend’s purple Proton Wira came into sight. She rushed to it, quickly entered the car and her friend drove away.

“Thank god you are here. I’m sorry to wake you up at such ungodly hour but you have no idea how scared I was. I’ll never, ever take another bus with this timing again,” she poured forth, finally feeling relieved to be in the company of someone she trusted.

The friend nodded, “No problem, but we had to make a detour to a petrol station first. I’m nearly out of gas…”

=====
Three years later, the friend called her up.

“Jue, remember that time you asked me to pick you up from the bus station at about 4 o’clock in the morning?”

“Hmm,let me think for a moment… Ooh, that time… Sure. I still remember your stern voice telling me to stay where I was until you come and pick me up…”

“Well, I’m just curious why, on that night you would call me and ask me to pick you up. What if I had refused and ask you to take a cab?”

“Because I knew that you would not simply abandon me like that. I knew that you have always been responsible and compassionate. I knew that if I asked for your help, you would welcome the opportunity to give me assistance in my time of need. That’s you.”

Those heartwarming comment touched the friend deeply. And she made a quick prayer - that she will never get too busy in her own affairs that she fails to respond to the needs of others with kindness and compassion.