A Date with Death
Binash was waiting for Ayu at their favourite meeting place. But he was depressed today. Recently, Ayu had become busier than ever and he sometimes has no work to do. It's not that Ayu wasn't busy earlier, but then Binash too used to be busy—sometimes so much that they didn't even get time to meet or even call each other for weeks. Now too, they don't get to meet often and have to spend months without even speaking to each other, but that is only because Ayu don't get time often. And Binash? Binash just sits now, idling away his time. Not that he is inefficient in his work, but still, he don't know why, everyone likes Ayu's work much. Not that he envies her, yet sometimes he feels sad about himself. Sometimes he too wants to be loved and wanted by someone, like they love and want Ayu. But everyone just hates him. And worser still, is afraid of him.
He is the one whom someone waves at from the other side of the road but never crosses the road to come to him. Sometimes a teenage girl calls him because she had broke up with her boyfriend or because she had a great fight of her parents, sometimes an old man who is tired of enduring rejection from his children looks up to him for support and sometimes some young men call out to him when they drastically fail in finding a means to live on. But most of the time, almost every time, Ayu reaches them before him and makes them fall in love with her so much that they forget Binash eventually and he just watches their reunion from afar.
"Hey, what's up, dude?" Ayu said, in her same jolly tone.
"Ah, the dark sky, I guess," Binash retorted.
"With the stars twinkling all over them," Ayu smiled, as she sat beside him, on their old broken wooden bench. Binash smiled weakly looking at the sky, which was indeed covered with numerous stars twinkling brightly at him. Ayu knew exactly how to make him smile; years of practise counts, after all.
"How do you manage to carry such a halo of happiness around you, Ayu?"
"Umm... I don't actually carry them, Binash. Actually, the halos follow me," Ayu winked.
"Ah, indeed. May be that's why people loves you so much," Binash sighed.
"Aww... Don't be so sad, Binash. People love you, too," Ayu tried to comfort him, although she was well aware of the hard reality.
"No, they don't. I know they don't love me at all. They are all afraid of me," his eyes turned moist.
"Why? Don't you remember how Naina called you when her boyfriend dumped her?"
"Yeah. But did you forget how you reached there before me and made her change her mind?"
"Aww... I'm so sorry, Binash. But seeing her so depressed I just couldn't wait, you know."
"You do this every time with me," Binash pulled his lower lips out.
"But I never intend to hurt you, Binash, But, you see, we also have bosses over us, we always can't do anything of our own choice."
"Really? Then, when Ajay uncle called for me and even Boss wanted me to go, why did you argue with him and went there in my place?"
"That's because his wife, Babita aunty, called me and wanted me to be beside him when he lied there in hospital bed. She loves me a lot, Binash and I just can't deny her."
"Everyone loves you a bit too much," complained Binash.
"You give them a lot of pain, Binash," Ayu finally let the truth come out.
"And does your company never turns painful?"
"I give them happiness, as well," she argued.
"And, I give them peace," he argued back.
"Binash, why did you push the boy, ah... what was his name... yeah... Ratul. Why did you push him from the terrace? He was just twenty and..."
"Correction please, Ayu. I didn't push him. He jumped from there at his own will. He wanted to hug me once and I just hugged him as soon as he reached the ground," Binash explained.
"Oh, is it?" Ayu rubbed her forehead.
"Yeah. People always misunderstands me. That day... the day when you patted and hugged Bhaskar uncle's daughter, and I stood there watching everything from a distance, I was too depressed. I too wanted to hug her once, yet somehow suppressed the urge to do so, as everyone is just so afraid of me and so I didn't want to ruin their happiness by passing so close to them. So, i just came out of the place and walked with my head held low in the middle of the street. I was too engrossed in self-pity to even notice anything that was happening around me. Suddenly, I collided with someone and in order to keep my balance I held on to him in a reflex. The boy fell down on the road. He was about fifteen and was probably walking with his eyes glued to his smart phone, like the kids nowadays do, as I saw the broken parts of his phone lying scattered on the road, and had probably not seen me coming, or else he would have got afraid and ran away too. Soon, his family arrived and rushed him to the hospital. I felt so guilty for the incident that I too accompanied them and wanted to help them in every way possible. Yet, throughout the journey they kept on cursing me for his pathetic condition. Neither of us saw each other, then why am I to be blamed? But still, they put all their blame upon me as I sat there with my head hung low. See, this is how people always misunderstands me," Binash finished with tears in his eyes.
"I understand you, Binash. I totally understand you. Now, please don't cry like this," Ayu said, rubbing the tears off his eyes.
"Not even one soul here ever tries to understand my pain even for once," he said, as tears again blocked his vision.
"They are all common people, Binash. They like the bad things more and love to spend their time in the lap of lies rather than facing the truth and dealing with it. And moreover, they are too oblivion to you and they don't even know you well. But, Binash, tell me one thing, do the people who hug you once, ever complains? I agree they are all afraid to even touch you, but once they do, they really get the real taste of how nice you are!" ayu again rubbed his tears.
"Yeah, that they do. But then, their family hates me for getting so close to them," he sighed.
"Forget about their family and think of all the saints out there. They don't seem to like me much. They are even afraid to face me, let alone hugging or loving me. They say I give them a lot of pain while you fill them with peace. They want you to hug them once and then separate me from them forever. Although they are few in number as compared to the people who love me, yet they do exist," Ayu said.
"Yeah, you are right. Diverse people, diverse view," laughed Binash.
"Umm... Binash, I will have to go now. Sharmaji's daughter is calling me. He had a massive heart-attack and they are taking him to the hospital. I would have to rush as early as possible," Ayu said, getting up to go.
"Sharmaji? Wait, what? Isn't it the same Sharmaji who is ninety years old?"
"Yeah," Ayu laughed and nodded.
"Ah, this is the fifth time, Ayu. How many times you will save him more? Let me give him a tight hug now," Binash stood up and spread his arms.
"Stop it, Binash. What will I do? His daughter calls me every time he's sick and pleads me to be on his side," Ayu replied.
"Fine, let's go," he sighed.
"Where are you going with me, now? Binash, no hugging Sharmaji, okay?" Ayu warned him.
"No, no... Not him. I'm going to hug Dr. Sen's son. He is too in the same hospital," he replied.
"Wait, what? Dr. Sen's son? Isn't he just nine days old? Oh, come-on, Binash, you just can't do this with him," Ayu said, as they quickened their pace to reach the hospital.
"I will have to, Ayu. Boss' order," he replied.
"I will manage the Boss. Let us just switch places," Ayu said.
"You sure?" Binash asked, confused.
"Yup," Ayu smiled.
"Fine," Binash shrugged.
Thus, Sharmaji didn't survive his heart-attack this time and had to lose his life to Binash while Dr. Sen's son smiled a toothless smile in Ayu's arm; for sometime even Death isn't so hard-hearted to kill a small baby and Life is too helpless to save an old man from dying.