Empty Words of Advice!

My sister fell ill and was admitted to a hospital.

After a four-day stay in the hospital, she was discharged. We paid the bill, obtained the discharge certificate, and walked out of the ward. Sister was still rather weak and her pace was sluggish.

As we made for the hospital exit, I decided to repeat all the advice that the doctor had given. "Take your medicines regularly; don't skip them," I told her.

"You must start exercising a little; take a 30-minute walk every day," I continued.

"Reduce the intake of salt," my words of wisdom continued to flow.

"Use less amount of oil while cooking," I told her.

But my words of advice seemed to be falling on deaf ears because there was no response from my sister. The hospital corridor was quite crowded and probably my sister had not heard me over the hustle and bustle, I thought. I repeated my words of wisdom.

But still there was no response from my sister.

I turned around to find she was not there. I had been talking aloud to myself all this while. I saw that my sister had fallen back considerably and was slowly making her way towards me.

Other people were giving me odd looks, and I could only offer them a sheepish grin. All my words of advice had been blown away by the wind. What a waste!