I was in
metro, thinking about Khan-Agha, to whom I bid farewell today at
Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery. To the one who couldn’t bear more, what we call life.
A young boy
with a bag full of pocket tissue paper came into the car: Ladies! it’s just 200
tomans (40 cents). It’s very cheap; 200 tomans won’t make you poor.
…
And the
women bought some tissue paper from him. The woman who was sitting beside me
asked him:
-Where are
you from?
He said,
with his eager face:
-I’m from
Mashhad
-Where’s
your father?
-He’s
working as a labourer.
-Do you go
to school?
-Yes, I go
to night school.
-Which grade
are you in?
-Second.
-High
school?
-No, because
I started school late. I couldn’t go earlier.
As he was talking, he sold tissue paper and put the money in his pocket. He dropped a banknote. Someone pointed to it; the other one said: a cheapjack should take care of his money; another said: get yourself a bag so that you don’t lose your money; and the boy said: I should buy a waist bag.
The woman beside me who was watching this scene said: Attaboy! This is what a young boy should be. Young boys these days just think about their hairstyle, eyebrows and their look. They don’t know what earning means, they just spend. This is a man! He will soon be a man. Bravo!
I was
thinking: Yes, he will soon be a man; but why should he be a man soon? Is it
good to be man soon? When should he be a child then?
Khan-Agha soon became a man, very soon, when he sold tea in the park; the very moment when he wanted to remain a child, he became a man; the very moment when he wanted to remain an adolescent, he became an adult. The time when he wanted to be happy and dance, he became a man. The time when he wanted to fall in love and give another taste to his life, he became a man, a man that the society wanted him to be; a man that the traditions wanted him to be. He became a man... a man... he became a man without even wanting to become a man. He became something that he didn’t want but realised that he didn’t want to be what he was, so he decided not to be. He didn’t reach where he wanted but shattered what he didn’t want. This was the only way he knew or maybe the only way that was left for him.
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