The wisest, old TORN 10 rupee note ever!

I received a torn ₹10 note from a vendor while travelling.

I didn't realise it back then (because I didn't check it there & then) but I came to know about it by the time I reached home. When I was emptying my jeans pockets.

And then the thought & emotional loop began.

I had paid him fully. Even said thank you for his services. I hadn’t done anything wrong.
And yet, I was given that note.

It was torn & there was no way he didn't know it was. Was it just an error at his end? Or a deliberate act? But why me? Why me out of all those people?

I kept wondering why I got it.
Why me?
How did I not deserve better than this? Even when I had been honest & good and appreciative and not even negotiated the fare.

For a couple of days, I kept that note with me. In the drawer where I keep my cash.

And there it was, a small, old, torn, wise note, that had unknowingly become a part of my life. And every time I looked at it, something in me felt hurt. A small discomfort, but sharp enough to stay.
I felt deceived.
And I kept asking myself, why did this happen to me? Even to the extent: Why did I attract this experience to me?

It stayed with me longer than I wanted.
Not because of its value: but because of what it made me feel & my search for the accurate answer to my hurt.

At one point, I even thought… if someone had given it to me,
maybe it was only fair that I pass it on.

Until today morning.

I was getting ready to step out for an amazing day in the city, putting some cash into my purse.

I picked up that ₹10 note again. Held it for a moment. Stayed with it for a moment.

And I somehow decided not to carry it, but let go of it. Not even let it stay in the drawer.
To not have to see it again.

To not have to give it to someone.

To let it go from my life, & release the emotions and the sense of unworthiness I had unknowingly attached to it.

And to let go of the story I had attached to it.

And this, story, after all, is not about those 10 rupees.

- Priyanka Sawhney