Every morning, 10-year-old Ayaan would watch his father leave early, returning home tired, hands calloused from labor. Ayaan, too young to understand sacrifice, often complained, “You never have time for me.”
One evening, his father returned with a small wooden box. Inside it was a pair of worn shoes. “These were mine when I was your age,” he said gently. “I walked five miles daily to school barefoot until I earned these.”
Ayaan stared at the shoes, now cracked and faded.
“Why keep them?” he asked.
His father smiled. “To remember where I came from—and to remind myself why I work so hard now. For you.”
That night, Ayaan quietly placed his father's lunchbox by the door for the next day.
Years later, Ayaan, now a doctor, kept the same shoes on his desk. Visitors would ask why.
He’d simply reply, “They built my future.”
Moral: Behind every tired face is a story of love, struggle, and silent sacrifice. Never take it for granted.