Conversing Hugs, Sad Goodbyes…

What do you do when your eyes meet his and you ecstatically greet him with an enormous grin on your face and he doesn’t respond? Instead, he just walks up to you and hugs you like there is no tomorrow. Like his life depends on how long and hard he can hold on to you for. When you look into his eyes you see an ambiguous blend of confusion, and anticipation, fear, and hope and a discharge that has wet your shoulder and is reflected in your eye and you realize things that you could never have realized without his help. Suddenly you are filled with a sense of gratitude like never before and obvious realities dawn on you like epiphanies.

He was waiting for me at my residence while I scuttled from college to quickly pick up something for him on my way home. And soon after our intimate salutation he followed me upstairs to my room and sat himself down on my bed while I executed my structured routine of everyday trivialities. I started talking about general things, carefully avoiding any mention of why he was there on that particular day. But being the blunt person he is, he cut to the chase and just said “I’m really scared”. And that was the minute I just shut up and took him in my arms. It was my turn to hug him like there was no tomorrow. If hugs could talk mine would have said, I know you are scared, so am I… I know this might be it and it scares the life out of me, I know that there are things worse than the actual eventuality of us all and that scares me even more. There was too much to say, that I hardly said anything, instead I handed him the tiny token I got for him. Some chocolates and a T-shirt, the kind he liked. We talked some, then hugged some, talked more and hugged more and eventually joined everyone for lunch downstairs. Laughed a lot, entertained each other and then he left. I went to see him off at night and the hugging session started once again and our last hug lasted for about 5 minutes and then his parents told him to let go off me so I could breathe. And finally he just stood there in the black “Karachi Daku” shirt, that he had loved the instant his eyes fell on it that afternoon. We both waved.

Our paths crossed, inter-twined and fate made a decision that it would bind us together in a nameless bond for infinity. I call him my friend, the dear 12 year old boy who came into my life 5 years ago. And this is no ordinary boy; he has a maturity far surpassing those much older to him, a sensitive heart and an immeasurable ability to love. There is hardly a stain on his pure heart that has felt far much than it should have, that has endured a lot more than any child’s due share and that still beats contentedly with hope and optimism. He is certainly a “man” of qualities. So when he left for Singapore once again that night a million prayers were with him, and I hope yours will be too. For my little friend suffers from something no one would want for even their worst enemy …the worst kind of an incurable and malignant Brain Tumor.