He sat on the bench that cold winter evening. It was past 6 and the sun began to set. Being the only regular visitor to this park, he loved it for sole reason that it provided the best solace to his lonely life. The park being almost in ruins was rarely if ever was visited by anyone. He watched the sun set every evening hoping someday an end would come to all the miseries in his life. And this particular bench he sat that evening gave him the best view of the sunset as he wandered in his thoughts ranging from dismay to helplessness, helplessness to hope and hope to courage.
Life to him has always been an uphill climb. One huddle after the other he bravely faced and overcame. He felt so very depressed sometimes that he even considered to end it sometimes. But his aim that he made up in his younger school days kept him going.
‘Everyone in life should have a dream to follow. A dream that shall bring fulfillers to one’s life. And that dream shall lead you all your life’, his social studies teacher told him one day in school. These lines had a very stong impact on his seven year old mind.He pondered for a week to decide what his aim in life should be. One late Sunday evening he decided and wrote it down in the only note book he had,sitting on the same bench he sat this evening, 15 years later.
This particular evening he felt low and at a loss of zeal to live his life. Problems to him were never new. He faced them right from the day he was born. Even before he knew what pain and pleasure meant.
He was an orphan, left at the footsteps of an orphanage, one cold winter night. He had thin clothing that barely could protect a year old baby from the freezing harsh cold. For how long he endured the cold that night nobody knew. When the caretaker-Rehman a stern, overbuilt, dark man in his early 30’s saw the life filled doll in shabby clothes, was only disappointed. The orphanage was running short of funds that insufficiently provided the children with one meal per day. But the moment Rehman held the baby he couldn’t ignore the mesmerizing smile and the twinkling glow in his eyes . He named him ‘Muskaan’ immediately and later added a prefix ‘Shiva’ when he saw a Shiva’s locket tied around the baby’s right wrist.
To respect all religions was he believed in. Since his duties as the caretaker taught him to be the guide, teacher, friend, father and also mother to the orphans. He made it a point that he would live a life of morals and values so that it had the right effect on the orphans whom he embraced as his own children. To see them grow, settle in their lives and live a life making the society better is what he strived for. Though Muskaan was a favorite of Rehman, life to him was not fair. Muskaan was a brilliant, hardworking student. His unadultered interest and sincerity in studies made Rehman take an extra step of kindness by sponsoring Muskan’s education. He spent more on Muskan rather than his own daughter Zubeena education.
Zubeena and Muskan studied together and belonged to the same age group. They spent most of the time together and it was no wonder the feelings of love bloomed from their friendship.
None was surprised when Muskaan made his confessions to Rehman about his love for zubeena. Rehman remained calm and heard to whatever Muskaan had to tell. But he was a father after all and had his own worries. He did not want his daughter to live a life of suffering as he did. Though it was hard for him he told Muskaan to leave the Orphanage at once and come back to ask his daughters hand when he settled in his life. Muskaan left his home the next day.
After an year of complete struggle, Not finding any suitable job, he lost all the desire and hope to live. All the memories of the past surged in his mind, intensifying the pain in his heart. Muskaan had no choice but leave the park as the old watchman reminded him it was time to shut the gates of the park.Muskaan began to take slow steps toward the exist. He stopped, when the old watchman called onto him. You left your bag at the bench he said giving a bag of books. Muskaan tried to tell him they did not belong to him. But the old watchman was in a hurry and told Muskaan that nobody ever visited the park apart from him. Muskaan had no choice but to take the books with him after finding no one in and around the park.
That night Muskaan out of pure loneliness and despair started reading those 7 books he found. Each page he read filled him with inspiration and every word with courage. The books had all kinds of stories…Stories of love, kindness, jealousy, fame, success, war and even death. As days passed on, Muskaan turned into a new man with more determination and optimism towards fulfilling his dreams.
3 years passed by. Muskaan was now married to Zubena and had a year old son. Rehman was only too happy to see them, taking care of the new orphanage and school Muskaan built. Muskaan planned to open a old age home soon. They were all happy with their lives.
One day Muskaan while giving an interview for a national news channel, remembered about the books that inspired him to achieve his aim of building a school and orphange. That day he decide he would go and meet the author of the books that so influenced him.
He reached the address mentioned in the last page of every book along with the authors photo. An old lady in her mid 60’s told him to come inside when he inquired about Anthony. She bought him a photo of Anthony and asked him if it was about him he was asking for.
‘Yes that’s him, the author of the 7 books that changed my life’, he said.
What? He never wrote any books and Anthony left this world 25 years ago. He wished to become a writer. But he never could”, she said with tears in her eyes.
But I have the books with me, Muskaan told her. But when he tried to find the bag of the books he left in the car. He could not. He left the old lady with an apology.
2 years later, Muskaan became the author of 6 books that became the best sellers, read and loved by everyone around the world.
The day he finished the 7th book…he took all the 7 books in a cover and left them on the bench in the park that cold night. The next morning he came to saw that the books were no longer there. The old watchman told him that he was the last one to leave and first one to come since yesterday and that he knew nothing about the books.
That day Muskaan left the park with a smile.
The last line in all the books that Muskaan wrote was,
“The dead have many stories to tell”, nobody but Zubeena understood what he meant.
I hope you have safely reached heaven. Hope you have met Strippy and if you have already,tell him that he is loved and remembered back here. I hope both of you are having a great time together exploring your new home.I hope there are a lot many dirty ponds that are oxygen & worm rich and friends there who don't compete.
