05 - In Search Of Friends

( 1535 words ) ( A short-story by Arvind Passey ) IN SEARCH OF FRIENDS Will I be able to hear the whisper of trees? Will some kidnapper suddenly spring out from behind that false formation of rocks? Does the wooden door of that deserted shack open all by itself? Will the floors creak......and will there be an ancient piratebox full of an unheard of treasure, hidden under some loose floor planks? All kinds of thoughts of mystery and adventure, thrilling as well as chilling, kept-on their non-stop rumble until his eyelids drooped to a dangerously low plane that can easily be swallowed by Kumbhkaran -- a demon in Indian mythology, whose slumber was a legend. But the little boy did not sleep. Every-time sleep came with its mouth open wide, ready to swallow, his eyelids opened -- as suddenly as the entry gates of a Venus flytrap close -- and sleep saved face by pretending it was yawning out of boredom. All demons do it. All the stories that his mother had told him where demons ended as awakened Buddha had the same outcome.....demons were either swallowing weak and unwary people, or they were pretending to be bored when unable to do just that. So this nine-year old boy did not sleep. This boy is not going to sleep in this story. This boy -- lets stop calling him a 'boy' -- lets be more friendly. We know a lot about him now. He has come from India, has no brothers or sisters, has not yet made any new friends here in York, and, therefore, feels terribly lonely. Lonely! Thats it, lets call him Akela -- which in Hindi is the equivalent of alone. Akela may be lonely, he may not have made friends whose names may have been James, Charlotte, Joshua, Kelly, Lucy, Oliver, Tom....or any other who were in his class -- but he always went around with two of his favourite companions. They weren't always friendly, but they did not desert him absolutely, ever. They were a skinny, short, lovely creature with ruffled hair called Day-dreams, and slim, rough-textured, brainy oddballs called Books. So there we are with one more new friend -- Akela. Let us leave him battling with Kumbhkaran as we all go back in time to know more about him. He does appear to be interesting......and brave -- fighting demons, and being so friendly with two of the loveliest immortals. But let me warn you that I cannot go too far into the past -- just two hours. During that time I can read that person's thoughts also. You can say that my time-machine doesn't go far, but it digs real deep. Some of you, I'm sure, must be 1

wanting to know my name as well. I don't have a name because I do not exist like you all do, but if you insist you can all call me 'The Excavator'. That sounds like I've come from Hollywood, and the connection pleases me. With this let me whistle you back from Hollywood to where we can see Akela approaching the ramp connecting Carey Street with the walk-way beside the river Ouse. He is walking with his eyes looking far into nowhere, and I can tell you with my experience that he is thinking something. Lets hurry, or we may miss some important clue. 'Why hasn't Dhruv replied? I have written him two letters.....I've even made a longdistance call and given my address to his mother.....he is my best friend, and we even celebrated his dog's birthday by sharing our pocket-money to buy a star-studded green dog-collar'. Akela is near the ramp now though his mind is more than five thousand miles away in Ashok Vihar in Delhi in India. It is February here in York -- cool and windy -- yet Akela has beads of perspiration on his forehead. It is as if the sun's heat and a friend's indifference has crossed latitudes and longitudes and is now walking together with him. All this confuses me The Excavator too at times, but don't worry about me -- it is a part of my job, you see. So now we know why Akela is feeling so sad and lonesome. O, come on Dhruv, you can't possibly be so nonchalant about best friends. Peeping into minds is never a pleasant experience, especially when I know that I can change nothing. But what do we see now? Akela has started smiling. It is as if the cool wind gambolling on the playful waves of the river suddenly decided to roll into a ball and hit Akela on the face, saying, 'Come on, I'm just as lonesome. Lets be friends. Lets play.' A smile always means a yes, and the wind is a fairly smart thing as it understands smiles very fast. Akela said, 'Meet my friend 'The Magic Finger'. We've been together for many months now.' And the wind said hello in its own special way by rifling through the pages of that book by Roald Dahl. You can't really be friends unless you know a person thoroughly, you see. After this, the wind stood on its toes, whistled, and said, 'I like your friend, Akela.' 'You read faster than even I can.' Akela said, almost out of breathe, after watching this windy readathon. 'O, thats nothing. I once met a big man who had a nose like a pig's snout that he used 2

to smell books,' said the wind, and with a pause that whirled and carried a few dry leaves upwards, continued, 'he was carrying home an impressive pile of thirty books that he had bought from a second-hand book-shop when I met him.' 'That must have taken you a long time', gasped Akela. 'Yes, it did. I wasn't feeling very strong that day. But the worst part was the way he stared at me later.....and I know he was not intending to read any of those books', replied the wind. Before Akela could say anything else, the wind started speaking again. Winds are quite predictable, you know....and they are rather fond of talking, especially when it is about their own exploits. They kept-on talking and walking, whistling and blowing......until they reached the Blue Bridge. This bridge is on the little river Foss at the point where it meets the bigger and broader river Ouse. Its railings are painted blue, and that gives it its name. There on the lift-up Blue Bridge the wind got an emergency call to create a difficult patch for the practising rowing team, and Akela found himself leaning against its cold blue railing. 'Come with me if you want to watch me lift this bridge up ', said a voice from behind him. 'I'm Jane. I work on the River Duchess, and I have to lift the bridge up now for our cruise ship to go on the Ouse.' As Akela watched the slim but strong Jane rotate the half-moon wheel that lifted the bridge up, a snippet from his past knocked to enter. With his friend Day-dream, Akela zoomed with that snippet from the past and watched himself fall many times on the hard concrete of the open-air skating-rink in the backfield of his school in Delhi. He also recollected how he was unable to carry the Pogo-stick from the Argos store near lower Ouse Gate to Frances Street, where he stayed with his parents. They were going to be here for another three years until both his mother as well as his father completed their studies at the University. 'I'm not strong. I couldn't carry that Pogo-stick that day', he thought. But he must have said that aloud because Jane looked at him, smiled, and said, 'Even I wasn't strong when I was your age. Then I started going to Rowntree Park every day....and there I played, and played, and played.....until I became strong.' 'Where is this magic park?' asked Akela. 'There, on the other side of the river', replied Jane, pointing to something that was 3

hidden by trees, and then continued, 'you cross Skeldergate, come to the river-walk on the other side of the river, keep walking until you reach the park.' 'I'll be able to see the Blue bridge from there?' he stated an uncertain query. 'You can, if you're outside the park', laughed Jane, and then becoming serious, said, 'but if you want to become as strong as I am, you'll have to go in. You'll have to play, and play, and play....' saying this she jumped on the waiting cruise and they sailed off for their day's business. Akela started his slow dreamy walk to the magic-land of the Rowntree Park. 'There we are then,' said The Excavator, 'two hours isn't much, but I surely do know Akela as well as a part of his own past. He is still playing in his own mind. What he needs is friends, and friends, and friends.......' I do not know whether Akela made any new friends or not......or how soon he made friends. I keep hopping from one person to another, from two-hours to two-hours, so to say......but my experience tells me that Akela must have found many new friends....don't we all keep looking for friends? Don't we all find friends? #

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