"Today in the daily news, we have discovered the hideout of the assailants at the northern shopping centre… Three middle-aged men have been found guilty. They are being moved to the district court to undergo trial."
Yawn "Ehh, it's the same old stuff, huh… Should I just check if a new movie is playing or something…" says a disheartened Zaid as he tries to grab the remote to the television screen, which was reporting the daily news? "Now, where is the remote…" he sighs as he searches for it amidst the messy laundry in his room. "Great, found it." He clicks furiously to change channels and lands on the one displaying movies.
"Let's see now what's playing…" Random advert plays "God, no movie today either. This sucks," says Zaid grumpily. "Well, whatever… I think I should just go to bed. Another weekend wasted. Sigh, I hate this life," he says, displeased with himself and the now-shut-off TV screen.
Zaid's life has always revolved around weekends spent watching movies. That was his definition of fun. His life's trajectory was standard. Got good grades as a kid, joined college after his A-levels, and graduated with a degree. Got employed as a cybersecurity expert in a tech firm, working from 9-5, five days a week.
Throughout his life, he never could build concrete friendships or relationships. At 28, he lives a life working a job he has come to hate, living a life that has only grown boring over time.
"Tomorrow's Monday…" Zaid sighs. He curses his fate. He has to meet the deputy. Damn, he hates him. Did he ever want any of this? Absolutely not. He wanted to live a life of adventure and risks. He wanted to have a tight-knit friend group and go out and about with friends. Furthermore, he wanted to hike a mountain, do a bungee jump, deep dive in the Arctic—all sorts of crazy stuff.
And yet, he was here in bed, chained to a capitalist regime that demands his soul and his entire being at slaving his life away.
Turning around to get off the bed, a pamphlet falls to the floor, attracting his attention. He recalls where he got it from—two days back, as he was returning home, Zaid was approached by a mysterious monk who gave him this moksha therapy pamphlet, saying, "This could heal you entirely from this world's plights." Of course, Zaid didn't believe him, but he took it anyway.
"What's this now," says Zaid as he pulls out the pamphlet tucked under his pillow. "Let's see now…" He uses his phone's torch to read what's written there. "NEED A RESTART? NEED AN ESCAPE? NEED A RESET TO YOUR LIFE'S MISERIES??? JOIN US AT THE HIMALAYAS AND RECEIVE THE POWER TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE," reads the pamphlet.
"What utter nonsense," said Zaid. "But… you know, this reads like a scam… but I can't help but think, should I just go? I know this will be a scam and all, but hey, at least I get to go to the Himalayas. Maybe I'll meditate with the monks up top, live a life with the Sherpas… Aha, hahaha…"
Zaid was visibly amused by this idea. He wanted this break; he wanted something to motivate him to break this draining routine of his. He was determined. Furthermore, he knew the risk of it being a scam, although he was confused since they didn't ask for any monetary funding. Either way, he was determined that he'd just ditch his job and see what this programme was for himself.
Monday came, and the streets were busy with pedestrians, school-going kids, the lady who runs the bakery running along with eggs, and the salesman trying his best to persuade future clients. Amidst all that was Zaid—packing his luggage! He sent an email to his employer which read, "Hey boss, greetings. If you are reading this, consider this my resignation from your crappy company. See you around, and I'll call you if I need my severance pay. Hold on to it."
Reading this mail, his boss was definitely furious. "That bastard, what the hell kind of resignation is this… anyway, this opens up a vacancy. Sigh."
Zaid had packed the bare minimum—just some clothes and other useful stuff. His fridge was empty since he barely bought groceries; he used to eat out a lot. The flat was on lease, so he didn't care, since he had paid the lease contract fees at the start of the year, and it was still June. He checked his documents and booked a cab right to the airport. The flight was departing in three hours—a straight flight from Los Angeles to Kathmandu.
As he sat there, Zaid was thinking, "This is it, I suppose. I am finally escaping this shitty life. I don't think I'll miss this, I guess…" Two hours passed swiftly, and then Zaid heard the announcer say, "FLIGHT 381… Departing to Kathmandu, Nepal…. Onboarding…"
Zaid was glowing at the announcement. He walked through multiple checkpoints and finally got to his seat. He was excited and also a little anxious. Then the passenger plane took flight, and Zaid took one final glance at his life for the last 28 years—a final goodbye.
After that, he put on his earphones, and "In a Cave by the Tokyo Police Club is now playing," said the audio player. Amidst all this, he fell asleep, only to be awoken by the flight attendant with her soft whispers the next morning. "Sir, we'll be arriving on time at Kathmandu." "Great," replied Zaid.
The flight finally touched down, and after all the technical jargon of getting clearances and picking up his luggage, Zaid finally set foot on the cold, windy Kathmandu streets. There weren't many people out there since it was still 4 a.m. Zaid pulled out the pamphlet from his jacket. "Hmm… let's see now… I need to get to Tombat. Now, I don't think any normal taxi is taking me there. Let's try asking these people around," he said to himself.
He went around asking the taxi drivers if they were willing to take him to Tombat. Everyone just glared at him with puzzled and confused expressions and returned negative replies. Ten minutes had passed with no luck for Zaid in securing a taxi to Tombat. "This sucks, man," he said aloud, unable to secure a taxi for himself.
As he was thinking of retiring to the airport for the day, since the sun hadn't even graced the land, a man walked up to him.
"Sir, I heard you were looking for a cab," said the man, wrapped in heavy winter clothing, with only a warm smile and welcoming eyes visible. "Oh, yeah, I am," replied Zaid. "I am Apa. Although I work as a cab driver now, I am originally from the Sherpas," he continued. "You are in luck, sir. I am about to go visit my village, Tombat. Would you like to join?"
Zaid was delighted. He furiously nodded and replied, "Of course, I don't care how much you charge me. Please take me there." Apa replied, "Sir, I don't want your money, but please buy some groceries for my family back at the village, and that would be plenty."
Zaid was kind of confused by his answer, since this was uncommon in the country he hailed from. "Ahh, that's quite alright with me too."
So the two men boarded Apa's old Suzuki Vitara, took a stop at a local grocery store where Zaid bought all the goodies for Apa's family, and soon started their course to Tombat. Apa asked him, "What brings you here, sir?"
"Just soul-searching," Zaid replied. Apa asked him, "Well then, are you out here adventuring? We get plenty of those people here." "You see, Apa, the thing is I am visiting this monastery. They have this programme mentioned here to detox your life," he says while showing it off to an amused Apa. "Let me have a look at it, sir," said Apa.
As Apa was reading through it, you could see the visible concern on his face. After a while, Apa replied, "Sir, I know you have made up your mind. You being here is proof of it, and I won't tell you to do it any other way. But please be vigilant when you visit this place. I'll drop you there myself."
He continued, "This place recently opened up by the looks of it since I didn't know about its existence till now, but I can't help but wonder if there is something wrong about it. If you ever need help, please don't hesitate to call me."
Hearing all that, Zaid was a bit anxious, but his determination was rock solid. He wanted to visit this place even more now. "Thank you for your concern, Apa. I appreciate it, but you know I want something to fix my life, fix me." Apa smiled at this reply and didn't say a thing.
After countless hours of driving, they finally reached the monastery. "I guess this is where we say goodbye," said Zaid. "I guess we do. You were my most interesting client ever. Please stay safe out there, and I hope you find what you've been looking for," said Apa, and drove off after waving.