Friendship Is Beautiful

"Is it possible that I am better than those who make fun of me?" He was walking towards the park while talking to himself. The Imam's narration was stuck in his mind.

"Of course, this is possible, because God has created every human being in his best form. Those who make fun of other creations of God lose their value in the eye of God and His creatures," His positive conscience started walking on his right side.

"All these are words to console your heart. The reality is the opposite. People who make fun of others are better than cowards like you in every way. At least they have the guts to laugh at the people like you. Their courage and confidence are what makes them better than you," His negative conscience started walking in his left side.

"You know what... what is the biggest problem in this world? That Intelligent people are full of doubts while stupid ones are full of confidence. That's why they never thought before speaking," His positive conscience got angry.

"Well being intelligent is not enough to move in this world courageously. It is also very important for a person to be confident and fearless. And honestly speaking these two qualities are completely absent in Saim," His negative conscience also got angry.

He was deeply engrossed in the repetition of his good and bad conscience when the tires of a speeding bicycle came to a sudden halt in front of him. He got shocked at this sudden disaster.

"Hey, dude!... How are you doing?" He raised his head and saw Afsah standing in front of him smiling.

"Can't you brake like humans? Whenever you come, you descend as a storm," He tried to scold her.

He looked at his surroundings. He didn't know when did he reach the park compound in his thoughts.

"This is my style, boss," She said, ruffling her hair.

"Very vulgar style you have," His friendship with Afsah had become quite good, so he used to joke with her quite frankly.

"Okay, leave it. Tell me how you got out of the house so early today... Wait a second did your family members throw you out of the house just because they were fed up with your actions?" She asked humorously with a serious face.

"Hahaha..., absolutely not. I'm only here for a morning walk," He enjoyed her sense of humour and started walking.

"Morning Walk?" She widened her eyes in surprise. "Don't tell me... are you going to join some sort of fitness model contest in future," She also took her bicycle and started walking along with him.

"Hahaha..., Not really. I just got up early today so I thought why not enjoy the fresh morning air," He explained while walking.

"Okay... That's good" She appreciated while walking along with him.

"By the way, what are you doing here so early in the morning?" He asked her.

"I have a habit of getting up early every morning and cycling at full speed in the empty streets. Today, I saw you entering the park, so I came here," She explained to him.

"Hmm... That's good," He appreciated her in kind.

Both laugh at his manner.

"Do you like cycling?" After a short pause, Saim asked her.

"Yeah, I loveeeee cycling!" She got excited. "Don't you like cycling?" She asked him.

"No, No... I like it," He smiled.

"So let's have it and ride around the park," She handed him her bicycle.

"I would love to ride it, but...." He bowed his head.

"But what?" She asked.

"I don't know how to ride it?" He got embarrassed.

"Really?... So what is there to be ashamed of?" She started at him.

"Sit on the bicycle, I'll teach you how to ride," She asked him to sit on the bicycle.

"But....," He tried to refuse.

"I said..., just sit on the bicycle," She forced him to sit on the bicycle and put the helmet on his head.

He sat quietly on the riding seat of the bicycle because he knew there was no way she was going to let him go other than teach him how to ride a bicycle.

"Okay, let's start. Hold the bicycle upwards between your legs. Feel the weight of the bicycle between your legs and try to keep it balanced as you lower yourself. Having feet on the ground prevents the bicycle from toppling while you acclimate," She taught him thoroughly.

"Maintain your weight in the centre of the bicycle, evenly distributed between your left and right sides, and sit up straight instead of leaning,"

He followed his instructions and started and started gliding. But after running for a while, he collapsed.

"Don't worry, Failure is the first step to success," She picked him up with her support and put him back on the bicycle.

"You are a good rider. Just focus on the bicycle and keep your eyes straight ahead," She encouraged him.

He was a fast learner, so after a few attempts, he learned how to ride a bicycle.

"Wow, great boy. You did it. You are a genius," Seeing him riding the bicycle successfully, she praised him generously.

"Thank you," He smiled. For the first time in his life, he was also feeling the joy of learning something new by himself.

"Oo shit, I didn't check the time. It's about 7 O'clock. I need to rush back to my home, otherwise, my mother will yell at me." Looking at the time on her wristwatch, she jumped and quickly snatched the bicycle from his hand and sped out of the park.

He stood for a while wondering about her action, then he too took the path to his house.

**********

Today was off to a great start. First prayed with the Imam and then learned to ride a bicycle with Afsah in the park. He was feeling refreshed today, away from the normal routine.

He was on his way home in his fun, when he saw a teenage girl dragging some things.

"May I help you?" He hesitantly asks her to help.

When the girl raised her head and saw him, a light of familiarity flashed in their eyes. She was his class CR.

"Hey, Saim! What are you doing here?" She asked him friendly.

"I was just passing by and saw you dragging this heavy load so I thought I would help you" He replied with a smile and grabbed the stuff from her hand.

"Awww... Thank you," She thanked him with a smile and started walking beside him.

"What is in this bag?" He asked about that heavy luggage.

"Oo it's my costume for next month's dance competition. You know what, dance is my passion," She seemed excited.

"It's quite heavy. Will you carry it on the dance stage?" He was curious.

"Of course... If there is a passion to do something, a person happily takes every obstacle upon himself," She laughed.

"Hmm..., great," He smiled.

"Do you have any passion in your life?" She suddenly asked him.

"Me...? Aaa... Nope," He shook his head in denial.

"Why not man? You should have one. Life without any passion is so boring," She explained philosophically.

"Well..., maybe you are right but I didn't get your philosophy, how life is boring without any passion in it?" He got interested in what she said.

"Look... passion in our lives is something that engaged us in our goals and achievements. If there isn't any passion in our lives, there aren't any goals and if there are not any goals in our lives, it means we have nothing to achieve in our lives. So when there is nothing to achieve in our lives, we waste our whole life in a boring routine i.e: born, eat, sleep and died," She explained to him thoroughly.

"Hmm... I think I get it now. Although I haven't any passion in my life before, now I'll try to find my passion," He said.

"That's like a good boy," She smiled.

They reached her house while talking.

"I'm home, thanks for your help," She pointed to her home and got her stuff back from him.

"May... May I ask another question please?" She walked towards the gate of the house as he hesitantly asked her.

"Yeah sure..." She stopped.

"May... May I know your name?" He asked, rolling his eyes.

"What... Don't tell me. We are studying together for almost three years and you still don't know what's my name?" Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Everyone calls you CR in the school. So I never get your original name," Seeing his innocence, she laughed loudly.

"Okay don't panic. my original name is Maleeha," She told her name.

"Thanks," He smiled.

"You are welcome... Okay, see you at school... Bye," She entered the house waving her hand.

"So I came to know about one thing more today i.e: The Passion," He thought, smiling at the door to her house.