Weekend Story- The Waiting Game
May 28, 2026
At 7 a.m., Maya waited for 5 p.m. so her workday would end. She scrolled through vacation photos, already longing for Friday.
Across town, Rohan waited for winter to pass. “Once summer comes, I’ll start running again,” he promised, sipping his coffee beside the heater.
On the university campus, Tara waited to graduate. “When I finally get that job, I’ll be happy,” she told herself as she hurried between classes.
In another part of the city, Dev waited for retirement. “Five more years,” he said, calculating his savings, “then I’ll travel, write, live.”
And in the same park, they all passed by daily, sat an old woman named Lata, feeding birds. She wasn’t waiting for anything.
One morning, Maya stopped at the park, exhausted. Rohan jogged past. Tara sat nearby reading. Dev walked his dog. Their eyes met as Lata laughed at the pigeons fighting over crumbs.
“Why are you so happy?” Maya asked.
Lata smiled. “Because this is the moment everyone’s waiting for. You just don’t notice it while you’re waiting for the next one.”
The others said nothing. But the next day, each of them — Maya, Rohan, Tara, Dev — paused again at the park.
None of their problems vanished. Yet something had shifted.
They had stopped waiting to live.
