My First Afghani Friend

It was a lonely road. The midnight cold breeze, a flickering street light, distant sound of dogs barking made the stroll only more enjoyable. It was silent. As silent as it could get. We were heading towards the main gate of the campus. An auto-rikshaw approached us but it  left us disappointed when we found out that it was already taken. But we still took our chances and stopped it. There was a boy, our age, sitting alone in the corner seat. It was dark and I couldn't see his face properly, so I did not make an opinion about him. 

'Dude, can we share auto till Sindhi Camp? We have to catch a bus.', I asked hesitatingly, while Dodo was looking at sky as if he had no hopes to get a ride.

'Sure! Hopp in.' It brought instant smiles to our faces. We did. 

'Ketan. Final year mech', I said, approaching him for a handshake. 

'Dodo. Same.', Dodo said, bringing an artificial, forged smile.

'Hi! Lativ. Second year civil engineering. Where are you guys headed anyways?' He was talking in a very slow and broken accent. At the same time, his voice seemed full of pride and respect. It hit me that he must be from Afghanistan. I knew that they had some kind of scholarship programme for Afghani students in our college. There were a few in our batch too but I never went their way.

'Delhi', we said in union. 'We'll take a bus to Delhi from Sindhi Camp...'. He didn't let me complete. 

'That makes us friends till Delhi', he said in excitement. 

That last line made me like him instantly. All three laughed healthily. We didn't speak a word for the rest of journey in that old, noisy, annoying auto-rikshaw. We retired at Sindhi Camp just to find out that the last Volvo bus to Delhi was already full. Shit! We turned to other private buses; but no luck. 

'Weird. There are buses to Delhi every 15 minutes. What is it today? WTF day or something?' I said getting a little frustrated. 

'Guys, I can't afford to get late. I have a flight tomorrow, to Afghanistan, at 11. It's gonna cost me a lot if I miss it.' Lativ said in a serious tone. 

'Don't worry Lativ, we'll get you there...on time.' Dodo said promisingly,  putting his right hand on Lativ's shoulder. 

Without wasting a second, we turned to most ordinary government buses. These were the cheapest, dirtiest and most dangerous buses one could get. There was a long queue. I stood in line like a good boy, while Dodo and Lativ were trying their luck to get a cut in the queue. Lativ got one. When he reached the ticket counter, he asked for three tickets to Delhi. There were only two available in that bus. (It surely was WTF day that day.) Lativ was in confusion again. He couldn't decide weather to take it or wait for the next bus. 

'You go ahead. Me and Ketan will catch the next bus. dont worry about it.' Dodo told him. Standing a little behind them, clueless, I could only guess what could be the matter. Both returned with long faces. 

'They had only two left. I said Lativ should take it as he has a flight to catch.' Righteous thing as it seemed to me.

We helped Lativ to put his luggage and bought few food items for him. He seemed awkward. To be sorry or to be thankful. We hugged and said good bye. We got another bus half an hour later. It felt good. Good to have a stranger as friend for such a short time!