JUST A HUMAN.

Just a human.

From Kumar's verandah where he sat every morning to read the newspaper, he could see an unassuming teashop bustling with activity right from early hours.
Since quite a few weeks, he was also able to see another sight which intrigued him...curious cat that he was.
A venerable, well-to-do looking gentleman would approach the teashop almost exactly at 6am. There, an obviously poor gentleman would be sitting on the bench outside the teashop waiting for him.
They would exchange a quick smile, then sip the hot coffee served by the teashop owner silently for the next ten or fifteen minutes. After that, they would again smile at each other and go their ways.
Not a word would ever be exchanged!.
This excited Kumar's curiosity very much. But he hesitated to approach the venerable gentleman who looked quite familiar.
Then one day, he suddenly remembered. 
" Sir, aren't you the Mathematics professor Viswanathan?"
" Yes, sir, but retired."
Vishwanathan replied, smiling.
" Sir, who is that person who drinks coffee with you daily?"
" No idea," said he with a genial smile. 
" What! You don't know his name, religion or caste?"
" No need to."
" Yet you offer him coffee daily, why?"
" Because I like to."
" Why do you always pay for both?"
" Because I can."
" Doesn't it bother you that he is a stranger?"
" No. He greets me with an unconditional smile every morning, that's enough for me."

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