Faizan Bashir
Hey, did you see that rural guy; they are deceptive; have you received the amount which you had lent to him? Were the words being uttered by one of my boon-companions? I felt it be a vituperative statement that was against the ethical grounds of a human—I goggled at him for being so indignant towards just another community of us and asked: “dear, what prompt you to throw brickbats towards him?” The injudicious reply that he gave was, they have plotted even lucifer; he must have absconded!…and he couldn’t confront the statement of the man-comparing with Satan!!
After a while, another man (not known) popped up in front of us with tearful eyes said, “what have we done? what you see inferiority in us—or just to prove your superiority you stoop to such levels that comparing a human to Satan seems a norm these days!” the unknown man added and left wretched. I left the place with being perturbed to a high degree by virtue of calling my pal, the rural friend a ‘Satan-Plotting man’, and too by the tearful eyes of that man who, before leaving, offer some the points on which we need to ponder over & over. After a couple of days, another friend of mine, who seems to be in dire need, phoned me, and asked if I could lend him some ‘three thousand rupees’— because of the fact that I had no money available at that very moment; I replied to him, with utter dismay, that I have no money to be lent out. I would see if I could arrange the said amount, and let you know accordingly. I pocketed out my mobile phone, and dialled the number of my ‘Gamuk!!!’ friend, but, at a stretch, it whimpered “the dialled number is switched off”. Various disgusting thoughts sprouted in my mind of him, and I—being against this unjust calling oneself names—even began suspecting him! And, talks of my friends return to me mind: what if he has absconded? What—amount is huge, I had lent him as I trusted him- has he shown his true colours?
The thoughts provoked me, and I departed for his home to beat the crap out of him! As I was walking the way, ‘I see some white thick lines of dust on the edge of the roads, and a line of vehicles; people going towards his home’ I talked to myself why are these things here? It seems that someone has died? I further recourse to probe into the scenario, and what I come to ‘hear-breaks my heart, gives me Goosebumps’…“My nephew has died some four days ago” replied his maternal uncle on being asked of its whereabouts….. ‘I did wrong! I did wrong! The words, naturally, came from my mouth. The inferences are wrong! And, I am equally guilty as my friend who muttered imprecations to my that friend (who has died!!)…!!!’
Tailpiece: The whole story should be enough that we realise how unethical it is to call someone by names and make inferences (false guesses) that ‘someone must have done something’. The sooner we leave such evils, the better some aspects of life would be.
(The author is a student. Views are his own)