Quirks in Food and People: Random free nougat
I just finished work one day on an oddly busy Sunday night, and while heading towards the door to the outside world (finally!), I was stopped by a staff that I technically never spoke to. I gave her an acknowledging smile and thought that I was just going to be on my way when she stopped me again. Holding some cloths bound for washing on one hand, and something that looked like little packets of sweets on the other, she said, "take it."
At first, I wasn't sure how to react, because it was so random and unexpected, especially because it came from someone I've seen around my workplace but never really talked to.
"Take it", she said again, and so, out of courtesy towards her kindness, I took one of the four plastic wrapped pieces. Looking at it briefly, I realized that it was nougat. Nougat! One of my favourite sweet treats. I have no idea why I love these things, but I just do.
"Take it all," she said yet again, "we don't eat these things".
At this point, curiosity was etched on my face. We don't eat these things? I wondered what she could have meant by that. I guess, perhaps, that the people around her didn't like sweet stuff like this. Then again, it's nougat! How could you not like nougat! Maybe it's just me though, haha.
"Give it to your friends," she then added, as if this would explain the whole situation and would be the ultimate solution to it.
I thought about it, and decided, what the heck, it's nougat. And she's right, I suppose I could pass it out to whoever I walk pass to reduce the guilty feeling of having all the goodies to myself - that is, if it's not all gone by then.
I walked home happy that night, knowing that what they say about giving and taking is true. If you give wholeheartedly without expecting anything in return, you may one day receive something in return when you least expect it. It's not about the magnitude of the gift, or even about the person giving or receiving that gift. It's about the pure, honest act of wanting to give that sets a person apart from the rest of the selfish world we live in.
At first, I wasn't sure how to react, because it was so random and unexpected, especially because it came from someone I've seen around my workplace but never really talked to.
"Take it", she said again, and so, out of courtesy towards her kindness, I took one of the four plastic wrapped pieces. Looking at it briefly, I realized that it was nougat. Nougat! One of my favourite sweet treats. I have no idea why I love these things, but I just do.
"Take it all," she said yet again, "we don't eat these things".
At this point, curiosity was etched on my face. We don't eat these things? I wondered what she could have meant by that. I guess, perhaps, that the people around her didn't like sweet stuff like this. Then again, it's nougat! How could you not like nougat! Maybe it's just me though, haha.
"Give it to your friends," she then added, as if this would explain the whole situation and would be the ultimate solution to it.
I thought about it, and decided, what the heck, it's nougat. And she's right, I suppose I could pass it out to whoever I walk pass to reduce the guilty feeling of having all the goodies to myself - that is, if it's not all gone by then.
I walked home happy that night, knowing that what they say about giving and taking is true. If you give wholeheartedly without expecting anything in return, you may one day receive something in return when you least expect it. It's not about the magnitude of the gift, or even about the person giving or receiving that gift. It's about the pure, honest act of wanting to give that sets a person apart from the rest of the selfish world we live in.
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