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I never thought this day would come.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2FwDmqmO5U
Years of hard work — gone in a moment.
What am I supposed to tell my father now?24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGinyINqT2d
My family is counting on me, and for the first time in my life, I feel like a failure.
Across the room, I saw Manoj shaking hands with the manager. His confident smile said it all. They must’ve known each other already — maybe a family connection, maybe a favor. That’s how it always works, doesn’t it?
Manoj and I studied in the same college, the same course. Everyone knew I was the best student in class. But still, he got the job.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsR3ez45A6D
His father’s a cop — maybe that was enough.
I walked out of the office with heavy steps, my chest tight. The world felt colder that day.
When I reached home, I noticed a small sticky note on the table.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2FAPblpKQM
It was from my father.
“Went to the temple with Amma. Be back by night.”
I sat on the chair, the note still in my hand. My heart ached as I stared at it.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTdDQtybG92
And that’s when an old question echoed in my head — a question that had followed me since childhood.
It all started when I was ten.
That morning in English class, our teacher asked everyone to share their dream job.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSZnoDaQw9r
When my turn came, I stood up proudly.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlccmxSTgRD
“I want to be an engineer,” I said.
Before I could even sit down, a voice cut through the room.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7aX3NhIPPk
Jeevan — the class clown.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlgwy850cZ3
“Your father’s a garbage collector,” he laughed. “You’ll end up the same!”
The whole class burst into laughter.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf1F5YCE1aG
My ears burned. My fists clenched.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjGZ0Cd6sgk
Our teacher quickly silenced them. “Every job has its value,” she said firmly. “We must respect all kinds of work.”
But after class, Jeevan and his friends found me again.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Vv0Ha5QQO
“Rubbish boy,” they teased.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQHpja4ouCM
I snapped. I punched him hard.
The principal saw it all. He called our parents.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoEzdGWB5jV
Jeevan’s mother was just like him — cruel, proud, and loud.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSeEakejOKE
She looked straight at me and said, “He must have learned this behavior from his father.”
The principal cut her off and warned us both, but her words stuck to me like a scar.
A few months later, my family and I visited my father’s younger brother. My father had raised him and his sister after their parents died — worked day and night just to feed them.
Now, his brother was a doctor. His sister, a teacher.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfGe5cFKrAt
But when we went to their house, they treated us like strangers.
My aunt scolded me for no reason. She wouldn’t let me play with her kids. She barely even looked at my father.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBSKMBvKRYx
I could feel it — the shame in her eyes. Shame because my father was a garbage collector.
That day, I realized something.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQzZJGErgOT
Respect doesn’t always come from blood.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyKPfFcVUvU
Sometimes, it comes from success.
That was the last time I went to their house.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ32bSSrzOGU
And that night, I made a promise to myself —24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLsKyFIKlpo
I’d become an engineer.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFjYHlTOnmS
Not just for me… but for him.
I studied harder than ever. Got a scholarship. Finished my degree with pride.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTQFpW7Y3FE
Then came the job hunt — interview after interview.
And then tragedy struck. My father fell ill.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGukmZLdkrv
The doctor told him to rest. No more work.
Now, it was my turn to carry the weight of our family.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVf7bsws6Hg
I had to get a job — any job.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiVP6QpcUz3
I needed to keep us alive.
That’s why today mattered so much.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy17WjdeSsS
That’s why the rejection hurt deeper than anything else.
But giving up? No. That’s not who I am.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0LRnS98CCJ
Tomorrow, there’s another interview.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ61oyEeQTe1
And this time, I’ll walk out with an offer letter in my hand.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtoP8rbrYbS
For my father. For my mother. For everything they’ve done.
Years passed.
Now, I stand inside my own factory — my name on the board outside.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkJtLuPh5pw
We manufacture the best plastic bottles in the region.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc2rLcGvmWX
People call me sir.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPUyoykaaMN
They shake my hand with respect.
My father passed away months ago.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZsZlz5Nb4E
But when people speak about him now, they don’t call him a garbage collector.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcOaWOWI1bJ
They say, “He was the man who raised a great son.”
It wasn’t my mistake that I was born poor.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI4cO3gqljg
But it would’ve been my mistake if I died poor.
And I’ll make sure — in my family’s story — that shame never passes on again.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAO4T0OYg0t
Because one day, people will understand:
It doesn’t matter who your father was.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW1Xf6rU6Js
Anyone can be anyone… if they work hard enough.
and then Add to home screen.