Ding Dong... The calling bell voiced the arrival of someone.
I trudged towards the window to see our visitor – A traveling sales-man, reeking in the sultry Kerala summer, with high spirits and a nice ‘close-up’ smile that radiated from his determined face
"Another one" I thought.
Before I could open my mouth to say that we need nothing, he said "Sir, I know you are pissed off with so many sales men knocking at your door. Please give me just 5 minutes. It will help my family a lot. No need to buy anything. Please have the kind heart to listen to what I have to say. At least it will give me the satisfaction that I tried...". The pleading smile on his face and the hope in his eyes stayed without a flicker.
Unable to ignore that hope and smile, I said "ok".
By this time my mother, curious to know why I was taking so much time to politely say "No" to our guest, reached the scene. We opened the front door and stepped out to the veranda.
Flashing his pristine teeth, he unzipped his bag and took out a small bottle of 'magic cleaner'. As per him, the clear and clean 'magic-cleaner' liquid could clean ANY stain on this mother earth except the one you find in the minds of politicians. He asked us to show him some difficult stain on the veranda floor. We spotted one for him, on which he poured the clear liquid. We saw the liquid unsettling the stain. He waited for a while and wiped out the liquid with a dry piece of cloth. The stain was gone!
My mother and I exchanged a few glances before she said "If that 'magic cleaner' is that strong, won't it harm my hand when I use it?"
"No Mam. Not at all. ‘Magic cleaner’ affects only the stain and not the human skin. That is its beauty"
Realizing that my mom did not buy his claim, he opened the bottle once again and poured the liquid into his mouth! He gargled for a while and spat the liquid out. With that thousand watt smile he said "See. There is no harm!". To prove his point further he opened his red mouth wide open.
We bought his sales pitch and got one small bottle of 'magic cleaner' from him. When we handed over the 20 Rs note, that flashy smile once again broke on his dry lips. He thanked us and left to sell more.
I trudged towards the window to see our visitor – A traveling sales-man, reeking in the sultry Kerala summer, with high spirits and a nice ‘close-up’ smile that radiated from his determined face
"Another one" I thought.
Before I could open my mouth to say that we need nothing, he said "Sir, I know you are pissed off with so many sales men knocking at your door. Please give me just 5 minutes. It will help my family a lot. No need to buy anything. Please have the kind heart to listen to what I have to say. At least it will give me the satisfaction that I tried...". The pleading smile on his face and the hope in his eyes stayed without a flicker.
Unable to ignore that hope and smile, I said "ok".
By this time my mother, curious to know why I was taking so much time to politely say "No" to our guest, reached the scene. We opened the front door and stepped out to the veranda.
Flashing his pristine teeth, he unzipped his bag and took out a small bottle of 'magic cleaner'. As per him, the clear and clean 'magic-cleaner' liquid could clean ANY stain on this mother earth except the one you find in the minds of politicians. He asked us to show him some difficult stain on the veranda floor. We spotted one for him, on which he poured the clear liquid. We saw the liquid unsettling the stain. He waited for a while and wiped out the liquid with a dry piece of cloth. The stain was gone!
My mother and I exchanged a few glances before she said "If that 'magic cleaner' is that strong, won't it harm my hand when I use it?"
"No Mam. Not at all. ‘Magic cleaner’ affects only the stain and not the human skin. That is its beauty"
Realizing that my mom did not buy his claim, he opened the bottle once again and poured the liquid into his mouth! He gargled for a while and spat the liquid out. With that thousand watt smile he said "See. There is no harm!". To prove his point further he opened his red mouth wide open.
We bought his sales pitch and got one small bottle of 'magic cleaner' from him. When we handed over the 20 Rs note, that flashy smile once again broke on his dry lips. He thanked us and left to sell more.
**********
Evening:
My mom was out, watering the plants when she observed some discoloration on the veranda floor. She went to examine. To her horror, the chemical that was poured on the veranda had dissolved a little of the marble slab. She called me and showed me the whiter patch.
The dry lips, reddish mouth and pristine teeth of the traveling sales-man flashed in my mind. I could see fire in his mouth; in his belly.
