Kabir was sitting on the rock by the river, refilling his empty bottle. It has been 2 days since he left his home and now his supplies had started to exhaust. It could last, at max, for 2-3 days. He has to reach the village of spices by then, where he has a friend- Azaan.
Azaan was a merchant from the village of the spices. Kabir met him few years ago. He was found half unconscious and severely injured on the mountain. Kabir took him to the home and tended to his wounds. He told Kabir stories from the lands he has been to. They became friends. Azaan respected kabir a lot, even though kabir was way too younger than him. Selfless actions always rewards with new relations and respect from others.
Everything was favourable and Kabir was in the village of the spices before his supplies could run out. He asked for the residence of Azaan from people there and finally reached his home. It was nothing that Kabir expected it to be. It was an ill maintained house with ill maintained garden, full of long grass blades. Kabir knocked the door for about sometime before appeared the man, with heavy beard and thin built, stinking of alcohol. By appearance he looked more like a beggar than a trader. He struggled with his half closed eyes and then smiled on recognising his old friend.
"Hi Kabir. Come on in boy." Said the shabby man as he rubbed his eyes.
Kabir entered the house. It was badly lit, filled with musty smell. There were blankets and clothes on floor with empty bottle of alcohol.
"Sit here Kabir" said the man picking up his blanket from the couch "I'll get you some water." And went as he opened the windows.
"So how are you?"
"I'm good Azaan. Actually, I came to you for a favour."
"yeah tell me. What is it?"
"I need some money and so I need a job."
"why do you need a job? You have a good family to support you and large farms and everything. Is there something wrong?"
kabir was nervous to say this out loud and so he added more confidence when he said "I left home. I wanted to peruse something. To sustain myself , I need money and so please Azaan, help me. I need a job for myself."
"I don't know what you are up to boy but I can give you a name. You can talk to him and convince him. That's all the help I can offer you." Said the man as he poured himself a drink so he can avoid eye contact. He was all messed up, a drunkard. He wasn't the same smart and oriented man Kabir once met.
"What do you mean? You have people working under you. Why do I have to convince someone when I can work for you? If I had to work for someone else, what was my point of coming all the way here?"
"Because Kabir, I have lost everything. I don't have any work anymore and that's why I am telling you, I can't help you much so just go to the address I gave you and talk to him and tell him that I sent you. If you want a place to stay you can stay here. That's all I can do for you my friend."
Azaan emptied his glass. His eyes were wet, full of regret and self pity. He faced Kabir for a while but he could not stand those curious eyes staring at him.
"How could you not have any work anymore? You used to have people work under you. What's going on? What happened to you?"
Azaan was about to break in to tears and so he turned back. Took a piece of paper from his drawer and wrote a name and address on it and handed it over to Kabir before he refilled his glass. "Go to him, he should be home now. He is a busy man."
kabir waited for sometime there, holding the address in his hands, disappointed and surprised to see Azaan like that, till Azaan grabbed his bottle and went to his room and shut the door behind. It was harsh to see someone who inspired Kabir so much to travel and explore in such a pity state. He was the one who once told Kabir that the world is filled with wonders that people won't believe existed. He was the friend who used to tell Kabir about stories and adventures he has been through. Kabir wondered what has happened.
It was night and Kabir has came up on the roof of the big house. He used to do that every night, just to have a look at the moon. Kabir was roaming around, thinking about the land he has been looking for and the roses it had and how it was compared with the love. Then he thought about his supplies. He had nothing now. Absolutely nothing and how he was going to sustain himself. He wanted a job and then he cursed his friend, for whom he had travelled so far, just to find out that his 'only hope' is now a pathetic drunkard and then he thought of what could have possibly happened to him. He was never like that. He was always full of life and excitement and he loved his work. He loved how he got to visit places and he also got to know people with different cultures and languages and that's why he loved what he did. The man who was inspiration for Kabir. The man because of whom Kabir knew about different lands and that motivated him to explore the world for himself, the man who wanted to see sun from all lands is now living in the darkness of his own house.
As Kabir was wondering, he saw Azaan, staring at the moon too, holding a chillum in his hand, smoking. He saw Kabir and smiled. Kabir returned a faint smile as he came towards him.
"So you visited the address I Gave to you? How did things work out?"
"yes I went there, there were servants outside his house. They said he wasn't home so I came back. He really is a busy man. So how was your day?"
"Pretty much the regular. I stayed home all day, drinking and now I'm smoking ganja."
"what happened Azaan? You have changed a lot. What has happened to you? Tell me about it."
"Nothing happened kabir. You have known me for like a week. This is what I have always been. I think you were expecting something different from me but trust me, I'm good" said Azaan with a laugh. The laugh was fake. People tend to mask their depression by hiding emotions under these fake laughs. These laughing faces are more dangerous than a crying face.
"hey I'm your friend. You know that right? I can tell you something is wrong so just tell me" said kabir insistingly as he held Azaan's hand.
"Yes things are wrong kabir and yes things changed too. I don't ask things about you. I never asked why you left your home or judged your actions although it's just some puberty wind and you will end up somewhere like a beggar. Why do you keep poking your nose in my life and my business. Live your life and let me live mine peacefully. If you have a problem, then go, stay somewhere else." Azaan screamed. "I'm not helping you because you are my friend, I never thought of you as a friend. I'm just returning you a favour so please stop getting on my nerves and mind your own life." Azaan was all red, a bit sweating and heavily breathing, on the verge to collapse. He had a lot to drink for that day and smoked ganja too. He threw his chillum right down smashing it with the burning ash all over before he stormed out. Kabir stood there for a while, his eyes filled with tears. Those tears of anger. "How the hell that drunkard talk to me like that. Can't even stand straight. That's why no one talks to him. No one is his friend." Kabir cursed Azaan and himself too for coming all the way here loudly, as he stormed out of the messed up dark house.
kabir continued to walk in the midnight street, infuriated, cursing till he stopped near a tree to look back. No one has followed him. Kabir had no one now in that village. He looked up in the sky, the moon still shedding its light in full glory from the top of the sky . Kabir looked at it for a moment before he broke down crying. He cried till his knees sinker him to the ground and he cried as he laid on the grass below the tree.
Kabir felt scared for the first time he left his home.