Good People Go Too Soon

by Rizwan Ahmed Memon

(One Paragraph Story)

Good people live very short lives. I had a friend named Waqar, who was with me for only a few years. He was so sociable that he could get into any conversation and play games with almost anybody. If anyone ever asked him for a favor, he would do it so long as it was within his capacity. He was so good and kind that God called him back to the heavens at such a young age. I wish he was still here to experience this summer and every summer after, in the years to come. Without him, summer vacations are just empty and charmless. He hadn't planned his life much, as if he knew he wouldn't be living for long. After my marriage, he told me, "I don't know why, but it seems to me that I will be single all my life."I wish he had had more time to live, so that he could have made his dreams come true. He hadn't seen much of this world. Once, we were sitting on the river bank and talking about the water when, he said, "I fear that I will die in water one day." What he feared happened. On March 24, 2016, I received a call telling me that Waqar drowned while trying to save his friend. Tomorrow, I will be going to his grave to say goodbye to him before I leave for college.