Hello friends!
This is Hemant.
Many of you might have already heard of the drama thatâs happening on Wall Street right now because of an online community called Wall Street Bets. If you have not yet heard about this fiasco, hereâs an article explaining it in brief.
Basically, the online community decided to pump up the prices of a stock, Gamestop, to prevent a few hedge funds from making money by shorting the stock.
One of Americaâs most important investment apps, Robinhood, had to block all investments into Gamestop and a few other stocks.
Before we jump into todayâs story, I want to share with you my latest long-form essay - a compilation of many side projects Iâve worked on in the last 5 years or so. This is the first time Iâve been so open about my failures. Do check it out! Link
Todayâs story is inspired by the legend of Robinhood, where the hero steals from the rich and gives to the poor.
Letâs find out what happens đ
Robinhood
There was an engineer who lived in the Indus Valley of India, the IT capital of the country â Bengaluru. As a software engineer at a global firm for the last six years, he had gained enough knowledge about the company to know what worked and what didnât. He was regarded very highly by his peers, because of his wealth of experience at the company. Still not married, he was actively scouting a partner, but so far had not had any luck.
Whatever loneliness he felt was compensated by his four friends, who he used to meet almost every day. About a year and a half ago, right outside his office, he once met two boys begging for food. He initially didnât heed them as he was sitting on his bike, but after pestering a few times, the boys were able to convince him.
He had three bars of chocolate that he had picked from his office pantry. The office pantry had a suite of snacks that employees could pick from for free. He gave two of these to them. The boys, in turn, did something he had never expected. They took the bars to the side of the road and sat down beside an injured cat. With red cuts running across its body and a brown crack on its right ear, the cat was shivering. Its bones could be seen through the thin skin.
One of the boys gave a bar to the cat, who bit into it. The software engineerâs heart melted. He thought of taking the cat home, but wasnât sure what the boys would think. So he ignored the thought.
The next day, the boys fed two cats with the chocolates he brought. The engineer started on a daily routine soon, where he would bring some snacks from the office and give it away to his new friends. To avoid getting caught in the act, he used to leave the office premises late at night, when no one was working. He was also working hard at the same time, so no one cared what he did in the office at night, or at least he thought so.
Over time, the friendship grew. The engineer started hanging out with the boys and the cats and even took them for walks. Three months in, no one could imagine that the now healthy cats were starving one day. The engineer felt grateful that he had saved two lives. The boys, who had also left their parentsâ dwellings a long time ago, slept under the streetlights. The engineer sometimes took them to eat ice cream, or to a sweets shop for Ras Malai, or bring them books they didnât know how to read.
The engineer had already started thinking about getting them enrolled in schools and get them a good place where they could stay.
One day, as a part of his regular routine, he packed his office bag around 10:00 pm and headed to the pantry. He picked up two bottles of chocolate milk, two bottles of orange juice, two packets of potato chips, and a handful of chocolates. He stuffed it all into his backpack, which now looked puffy because of the packets of chips.
He got into the elevator. He expected only the security guards in the office right now. So, when he heard the voices of people as the elevator climbed down, he was alert. When he exited the elevator into the parking, he met a person from the Human Resources (HR) department and the security guard. They were chatting and laughing casually, so he felt a bit relaxed.
âHow are you?â the HR person asked him. The engineer smiled at him and continued to make his way towards his bike. âOh, your bag looks heavy! Itâs like youâre carrying your bedding with youâŚâ the person joked, looking at the engineerâs backpack.
The engineer was about to say something when the HR person interrupted him again. âDo you mind coming to my office cabin right now? I need to talk to you about something.â He was still smiling.
âI have to leave, actually. Itâs already a little late.â
âOh, a few more minutes will not hurt. Come on, letâs goâŚâ He headed into the elevator. The engineer followed.
âI think itâs been long enough that youâve been stealing food from the office. As you know, the food here is only for employees. That too, during the working hours only.â The HR person started. âHow did you even think no one would find out?â
The engineer stayed silent.
âIt is a matter of concern. Though your performance at work is top-notch, we will not allow such behaviour at the office. You are being fired with immediate effect,â he said and paused to see if there was any reaction from the engineer. None.
The engineer had tears in his eyes as he walked to his bike that night. When he met his friends to hand over their food, he didnât utter a single word. They continued to drink the juice and milk he had brought. The engineer had no idea how he could feed them going forward.
Sure, he would be able to find another job, but whether he could come here every night to feed them was a different question. If he found a job far away from here, he would not have the time to commute.
âWhy does every good thing come to an end?â He said to no one in particular.
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Thanks for reading :)
Hemant