The days that break you are the days that make you. Don’t wish for it, work for it.

It wasn’t about sneaking in just a chocolate box; it was about violating company policy norms by doing something as unethical and as disrespectful as stealing. Advika was lucky enough to have an understanding and forgiving boss, who after hearing her plea and reason, offered to take the case back but Advika was asked to leave her job right away. None could imagine what plight her children would have gone through had she been put behind bars for stealing something so insignificant. At least she now knew that all those store cameras weren’t just for show!

She walked home empty handed, holding no power but bearing great responsibility; in fact 2 of them. She waited for her children to come back from home and spent time with them. By now her mind was already jumping from one idea to another on how she could use human resource i.e. herself! She knew that if she could manage her kids so well, she could manage others’ too and hence decided to tell her neighbours and a few friends that she had indeed thought of being a birthday party planner. She wasn’t very sure of how her first attempt at this would turn out to be but she certainly knew that this was going to be the first step towards a long written journey.

It was a sunny Saturday afternoon and kids were pouring in from the front door while their parents dropped them off at Nimisha’s place. Nimisha was Advika’s neighbour and was the first one to trust her with the hefty job of taking full charge of her son’s birthday party. This conviction of a neighbour did not make her nervous but only added to her confidence.

As soon as the little bundles of joy entered, they were fascinated with their surroundings which were decorated with floating polka dotted balloons and were full of their favourite cartoon characters from Shin chan to Mickey Mouse!

They had tattoos, spray painting and a magician lined up too! A football cake with Messi printed on it and delicious pasta and cheese balls were enough to satisfy the little tummies. Each kid walked home with a stationery kit and a smile while Advika headed to her house proudly with immense praise and her pay cheque.

In a span of 5 months, word had spread around that Advika was indeed excellent at her work and she had already managed more than 20 such events. Her kids tasted luxury again but Advika was sure to keep them down to earth. Even people outside of her area and her friend circle started contacting her. One such invitation was from Mr. Chauhan who lived in the cities most posh area. Not only was the work load and guest list very profound, but the temptation and the urge to do something bigger and better for the reward that waited for her to grab it was even more overpowering.

Would this prove to be a big break in Advika’s career? Or would it bring something more along with it? Maybe something that would indeed bring an end to her suffering.