14 October 2012

A Sad Grave Of Friendship

The sun was sinking behind the purple mountains in the far west. The rays of the setting sun were diffused by the thick clouds creating a beautiful art of nature in the sky. A stream of sweat ran on my forehead as I walked hastily, nearing my destination. An occasional breeze of cold wind kept me accompanied as I got closer to my destination.

As I reached the edge of the town, a murder of crows took off from a nearby tree. I stopped and looked across the surrounding. Few years have passed since the last time I stepped foot on this ground. I used to spend a lot of time here with my dearest friends. This place stored beautiful memories of moments we spent together. I took out a bottle of water from my backpack, drank a bit and splashed some on my face.

From where I stood, I could see the familiar row of houses lining the street which ran across the town. Those were the houses where my friends lived and that was the street we walked together. I really missed them and just can't wait to meet them again. I glanced at my watch and quickly walked on. Chills of excitement started to run over my skin.

As I got nearer to the houses, I noticed that the place had changed much. The houses looked old and pale. There wasn't anymore of those gardens of flowers that cheered up the town. It was plain and dull. I saw no one in the street. Apart from the noise of dogs barkings off in the distance, only silence welcomed me.

The sun had almost set when I stood at the doorstep of the nearest house. It was the first house in the left row. The doors and windows were closed and the entrance floor was dusty. There didn't seem to be any sign of light in the house. I pressed the doorbell and waited but there was no answer. I pressed it again, and still no one appeared. I waited for a few more minutes before I finally gave up. I knocked the door of a few more houses where my other friends lived but I found nothing but disappointment.

What has happened? Have I been away for too long?

I leaned myself against a lamp-post and threw an empty look towards the far horizon as the evening grew darker. Occassionally, I saw people walking in the street but I did not recognize any of them. I stood there and waited for a couple of minutes with a confused mind and finally decided to walk to a tavern nearby where my friends and I used to hang out in the evenings of the good old days. The exterior of the tavern was lighted with bright neon lamps. I went close to the window and saw quite a crowd of people in it.

I walked in and sat at a corner. My eyes rolled from one end to another, trying to spot familiar faces among the crowd but again, I found nothing but disappointment. I did not recognize any of them. They were a new set of people altogether. I tried to greet and talk to some of them but apparently, they were not keen to talk to strangers. They were not so polite either.  They were not as friendly as the people who used to fill this place with colours of friendship and gratitude.

Where are they? What happened to them?

Still confused with the situation, I walked out of the tavern. The night was drizzling and the moon was behind the thick black rain clouds. I stood in the darkness gazing into the rain. Sadness and regret rushed into my heart. The silent of the night added to my sorrow. The gentle breeze that accompanied the rain failed to cheer me up.

I should have visited my friends more often. If I were here earlier, I would have met them before they left.

As I stared deep into the night, I realized that I had failed to appreciate friendship. I was too busy, lost in the wave of time. Time had passed and things never last forever. I took a deep breath and stepped into the darkness. I walked in the bitter rain without a clear direction, leaving the sweet memories of the past to rest in peace in this little town, buried deep in the grave of time.


(Photography by Moori)

19 comments:

  1. Sungguh saya tidak cekap berbahasa Inggeris namun gaya bahasa anda tetap mampu menonjolkan sebuah mesej jitu yang saya cernakan sebagai sebuah kesedihan yang direflekkan kepada persekitaran dan perasaan . Menarik dan menyentuh hati , :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Excellent read!

    You really gave such a clear picture through your words, of what it was like to return to this place. Reading this brought back familiar memories for me of when I moved back to where I was born and saw the house I grew up in after being gone for 20 years. Isn't it something how places hold such strong memories?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nice post and a great blog Zunnur!
    Thank you for your visit and nice comment on my blog:)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow... great read. I could easily see everything. You have a way with words...

    ReplyDelete
  5. You are a great writer my friend. Two THUMBS UP! I am adding your blog on my reading list. Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving a comment. I would not have known such a great writer had you not left me a comment. I am just a busy worker I seldom post and be at WWW. But I will make sure to visit your blog.

    ReplyDelete
  6. The English is excellent and the story telling - haunting. I am reminded of the Japanese tale Urashimataro and the Turtle, one of my favourite all time folklores.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Lovely narration....The ending part was so touching......For any relationship to survive...we need to give enough love and time...

    ReplyDelete
  8. It was such a beautiful read. You brought the value of relationships in such a lovely manner. We realize when we loose things, it's better to appreciate it when we have them. Thanks for a beautiful lesson...

    ReplyDelete
  9. This piece was so haunting and rich. A great exploration of those things which are most important in life. Fabulous job, Zunner! Thanks for sharing.

    :0)

    ReplyDelete
  10. @Kenn Ickmal Official; Thanks for your visit, Ickmal!
    Memang betul, cerita pendek ini adalah luahan suatu bayangan kesedihan yang dialami dalam perjalanan hidup.

    @Ron; Thank you Ron!
    We often clearly remember meaningful events in our lives and link them with the places where they happened. But those places that hold the strong memories for us become a painful loss when they are gone.

    @AmitAag; Thank you for your visit, Amit!

    @tfwalsh; Thank you very much! I'm glad you liked it.

    @Jolly Princess; Hi Jolly! Thank you so much. I'm not a writer, not even an amateur. I'm still learning and blog is certainly a good place to practice. Welcome to my blog!

    @ninotaziz; Thank you so much! I'm so glad to see a comment from you! I've never read the tale of Urashimataro, will try to find in in the internet. I'm not sure why I always tend to write about sadness and darkness :)

    @Sri Valli; Thank you, Valli! You're absolutely right, love and time are essential for the well being of any relationship. Sometimes we get drowned in busyness only to realize that we've lost something meaningful in life.

    @Saru Singhal; Thanks, Saru! You're right, we always learn things the bitter way. When we have something, we fail to realize how much we need it until we cannot have it anymore.

    @M. Christine Weber; Thank you, Mary. Unfortunately sometimes we just forget to appreciate those important things in our life.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Great blog, I really like the way you write!

    www.realyoungthoughts.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  12. Nice one! While reading this, I feel like I am walking on the same path and direction that you're heading to. You provided a good description of the surroundings I can imagine/picture the place in my head.

    ReplyDelete
  13. @ryan locker; Thanks!

    @Joan RB; Thank you so much for your comments, I'm so glad that my words painted the picture of the story.

    ReplyDelete
  14. This was beautiful and comes with a great lesson too.. keep track of friends even if you are caught in the web of life.. Friendship keeps the cheer in life.. Gonna call my friends today :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. I re-read this post which I had read some time back but then, I wasn't able to comment.

    I like the flow of this story. To me, friends are for keeps but it's beyond our means to have them around like what it used to be. What's left is the fond memories. Life changes with time and once we're on different paths from friends, we tend to lose tracks of them. And when we try to reach them, they are already gone.

    I like the morale of the story which is also a reminder to myself. Thank you for sharing. :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. U know what! I wrote my post on friendship after I found a friend of those college times, whom I was searching for a few years (who was unavailable in fb too)Its important to not keep a regret 'that I did not connect' I feel

    ReplyDelete
  17. the thing is.. we can't do it all at the same time.. so a few things are meant to be left behind.
    The only way to solve it is to make peace with your own self.
    Eventually, you know that you're not compromising with anything.
    Take Care! :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. @Manjulika,

    Thank you! I'm glad to know that my short story holds a good lesson for all us. True friendship is invaluable.

    @Balqis,

    I'm sorry that you could not comment earlier due to the problem with my comment box. I truly love what you've written here and absolutely agree with it. Thank you so much for your comments and I really appreciate it.

    When I started to blog some years back, I felt like I was talking to myself until I "met" a few bloggers who really inspired me. They were so kind and I really enjoyed blogging with them. And then at one point, I was overwhelmed with so much responsibilities and things to do that I could not pay attention to blogging anymore. I walked further and further from my blog and after some time, I found out that my friends have stopped blogging altogether and a few of them had actually deleted their blogs. I was not able to contact them either. I felt quite sad and regretted as these people meant a lot to me although we didn't actually met in the real world.

    @Jerly,

    I'm glad you finally found your friend after the long wait. You're absolutely right, to stay on with regret is not a good thing.

    @Purple Assasin,

    I agree with you. Sometimes we just can't help it and have to let go of something in life as we grow older and have to bear more and more responsibilities. Thank you for your advice.

    ReplyDelete

Custom Search