Forgiving

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“It’s okay.” ”It’s alright”. These were phrases I often heard from my employer. Whenever I made a mistake, rather than a sharp tongued employer ready to lash at me, I was greeted by a beaming face and words of encouragement. My employer, an old woman of age 80, was living alone until her son decided to hire me to take care of her. My natural inaptitude at performing household chores meant that I would wreak havoc in the house from time to time, yet my employer never once scolded me. I was notorious in the neighbourhood for being clumsy and forgetful, and my friends were certain that I would be scolded on a daily basis, yet she never did. I remember asking my employer why she never scolded me, only for her to reply with “I am happy enough as long as you are here.” I finally realised the loneliness that had been plaguing her for ages. As her son was married and was frequently busy, his visits were few. As such, I had become the only companion of my employer, an old lady I was pleased to work under and serve until her death a few years later.

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