Everything is where it was, but you…

Everything is where it was, but you…

Author: Rizwan Ahmed Memon

Village Akil
Larkana, Sindh, Pakistan
January 30, 2014

Dear Alan,

After four years of my university, I’ve returned to my homeland, and I see everything is where it was when I had left. The flowers are in the fields, the waves are in the river, the trees still sway in the wind, and the birds sing. The one thing that has gone is you. 

I was expecting that you would be at the station to receive me. I always thought that you missed me, my friendship, and my company. Where have you gone, Alan? I looked for you on the levees, on the streets, and on the banks of the river where we often sat and you made me laugh with your jokes. 

Villagers say you have changed. I tell them that Alan might have changed to you, but he would always be the same to me. Isn’t that true, Alan? Come back, my friend. I want to see you. Guess what? I have become a writer! I write stories, essays, biographies and poems. I want you to read me my poems. Oh, I want to hear your jokes, go for walks, and walk on the sand on the bank of the river. 

I have often written about our friendship in my writings; this way you were always with me. Now that I am here in my own village, why is there so much distance, dear? I remember you could never spend a day without meeting me. What has happened to you, Alan? I just want to know everything is all right. My friend, wouldn’t you congratulate me on my graduation? I would like to show you the pictures of my university life. When I was far away from my homeland, I missed every tree of my village, every field, every levee, the river, the streets, the singing birds, the herds of cows and bedfellows. I am happy to be back; this is where I belong, but your long absence makes me sad. 

Oh, Alan, February has come. The trees have turned yellow, the leaves have started falling. Oh, the salubrious wind has started blowing. Let’s be together in this spring, on the open grounds where the villagers play cricket and the boys fly kites. Oh, my friend, let’s walk on the bank of the river, which looks like a desert when the water has dried because of the wind. Come back, Alan, before the month of February ends. Now that the winter is about to end, the woodcutters have started going to the forest, the birds have come out of the forest, and they sit on the bank of the river and near the pond in the fields to catch the fish. I look forward to your arrival, dear friend. Let us spend our lives together forever.

Yours friend,

    Rizwan

To all the Strangers!

To all the Strangers!
 Author: Rizwan Ahmed Memon

Village Akil

Larkana, Sindh, Pakistan

August 22, 2013

Dear stranger,

                        I don’t know you, but now that you have found this book, you know me in someway. This is a message for you. I am writing to tell you that you are precious. Your time is money. Your life is valuable. Many of us forget the value of ourselves, our time, and our life, when we fall prey to loneliness, despair, and depression.

                        These torments are brought about by different people and things. Sometimes friends are the cause, sometimes family members or relatives are the cause, and sometimes it's our own mistake.  I had read somewhere that “people will always treat you according to their need and mood.”  Through the course of my life, I have realized that it is a truth. I know the carelessness of friends and family well. I was a little child when my father died, so I know what it is like when you are in the hands of someone else. No matter how much someone cares for you, there will be some moments when you realize that your father is your father, and nobody can take the place of a father.

                        Selfish, conniving people will always be by your side when you are happy, wealthy, and successful. They will lose interest in you when they have gained what they wanted, when they have exploited you enough, or when your success stops fascinating them and becomes a normal thing. Having met some such friends and relatives, I now have good understanding of the dishonest, crafty, and deceiving people. I gave everything to some friends, my time, money, and I even quit my studies for them. But after exploiting my knowledge, time, everything even my computer, they became strangers. 

                        All the things and experiences cannot be described in this short letter. In nutshell, you must be aware of your good friends and bad friends. Never let yourself be exploited. Leave those who have left you. Tell them you don’t need them, if they don’t need you. Nobody can take better care of you than you yourself. There is plenty of fish in the sea. You will find a lot of good friends in this big world who will care for you, love you, and value you. So pull yourself out of these torments. You are innocent and you deserve better than those selfish and stone-hearted people.  Sometimes God keep us in difficulties in order to make us stronger and to give us more experiences. 

All the best!

 Rizwan