Landing in Pune at 1:00 AM after a late-night flight from Chandigarh, all I wanted was to get home.
By the time my cab reached my apartment, it was almost 2:00 AM.
The fare was ₹840.
I paid through UPI and showed the driver the successful transaction.
He looked at his phone.
“Nothing.”
I refreshed my banking app.
Payment Successful.
He refreshed his.
Still nothing.
At 2:00 AM, I had two choices.
Argue about banking delays.
Or end the night.
I handed him ₹900 in cash.
“If the payment comes tomorrow, I’ll return it,” he said.
I nodded and went upstairs.
The next day I called.
“I’ll check my bank statement.”
Then silence.
I messaged.
No reply.
A reminder.
No reply.
Another one.
No reply.
A few days later, a message finally arrived.
“I received it. Send your QR code.”
I smiled.
Maybe this was finally over.
I sent my QR code immediately.
The message turned blue.
Nothing else happened.
A few more reminders.
Silence again.
By then, I wasn’t checking my bank account anymore.
I was checking WhatsApp.
Every time I saw that green icon, I wondered if he had replied.
On the seventh day, I sent one last message. GOD Bless You.
Then I deleted the chat.
Strangely…
Deleting the conversation felt lighter than getting ₹900 back ever would have.
Later, while telling a friend about it, he smiled and said, “The 900/- became expensive the day it started charging rent inside your head”
I laughed.
He was right.
I hadn’t almost lost ₹900.
I had almost lost my attention.
The Perspective
Sometimes the real cost isn’t what leaves our wallet.
It’s what refuses to leave our mind.
☕ What’s the smallest amount of money that has occupied the biggest space in your head?
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