Maria's new hat.

                                     

Maria lived with her mother in a small apartment in a city. She was an average woman; not too young or old, not too short or tall; not particularly beautiful or ugly.
She worked as a secretary at a large company, and her life was pretty much boring and mundane. No one paid her any attention.

One morning, on her way to work, Maria saw that a new hat shop had opened down the street.

In a spurt of curiosity, she walked in. There were ladies trying on hats. Maria too tried on a few until she found one she liked. She put it on and it looked nice!

A little girl with her mom noticed her "Mommy, look how pretty that woman looks with the hat on!" The mother said: "Ma'am, I must say, this hat looks wonderful on you!" Another buyer also came to look: "Ma'am, you look lovely with that hat on!" Maria went to the mirror. She looked at herself and for the first time in her adult life, liked what she saw.

Smiling, she went to the counter and bought the hat. As she walked outside a new world revealed itself to her. She never before noticed the colors of the flowers
or the scent of the fresh air. The sound of the cars and the people were like a harmonious melody. She walked as if drifting on a cloud with a song in her heart.

When she passed by the coffee shop, one of the young handsome men called out to her "Hey darling, looking good! Are you new here? Can I buy you a cup of coffee? "She smiled shyly and kept walking; floating on her cloud. When she got to the office, the doorman opened the door and wished her a good morning. Never before had he even noticed her!

The people in the elevator asked her the floor she needed and pressed the button for her.
The people at the office, as if seeing her for the first time, flattered her on how lovely she looked today.
The manager asked her out to lunch to talk about how she felt at work!

When this magical workday was over she took a cab home instead of the bus. As soon as she put her hand up 2 taxis stopped!
She took the first one and thought about the miraculous day she had had and how her life changed thanks to the new hat!

When she got home, her mom opened the door. The sight of Maria took her breath away!
"Maria," she said surprised "How beautiful you look! Your eyes are all lit up like when you were a little girl! "

"Yes, mother." Said Maria "It's all thanks to my new hat, I had a marvelous day!"

"Maria!" said her mother "What hat??" Maria panicked. She touched her head and saw that the hat that changed her life was not there.
She didn't remember taking it off in the cab or at lunch, nor at the office.

She thought back to the store where she had bought it. She remembered painfully now how she’d put it on the counter to get her purse out to pay and how she had forgotten the hat right there. Then she had walked out to the street. Hat-less yet glowing!

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

It wasn't the hat that freed Maria, it was the quality of her thoughts!

Our thoughts can enslave us into a horrible bondage or liberate us towards sweet freedom: to be, do, or have anything we wish for!!!


Story shared by Sharda Rao