( 1535 words )

( A short-story by Arvind Passey )

IN SEARCH OF FRIENDS
Will I be able to hear the whisper of trees? Will some kidnapper suddenly spring out
from behind that false formation of rocks? Does the wooden door of that deserted
shack open all by itself? Will the floors creak......and will there be an ancient pirate-
box full of an unheard of treasure, hidden under some loose floor planks? All kinds of
thoughts of mystery and adventure, thrilling as well as chilling, kept-on their non-stop
rumble until his eyelids drooped to a dangerously low plane that can easily be
swallowed by Kumbhkaran -- a demon in Indian mythology, whose slumber was a
legend.
But the little boy did not sleep. Every-time sleep came with its mouth open wide,
ready to swallow, his eyelids opened -- as suddenly as the entry gates of a Venus fly-
trap close -- and sleep saved face by pretending it was yawning out of boredom. All
demons do it. All the stories that his mother had told him where demons ended as
awakened Buddha had the same outcome.....demons were either swallowing weak
and unwary people, or they were pretending to be bored when unable to do just that.
So this nine-year old boy did not sleep. This boy is not going to sleep in this story.
This boy -- lets stop calling him a 'boy' -- lets be more friendly. We know a lot about
him now. He has come from India, has no brothers or sisters, has not yet made any
new friends here in York, and, therefore, feels terribly lonely. Lonely! Thats it, lets call
him Akela -- which in Hindi is the equivalent of alone. Akela may be lonely, he may
not have made friends whose names may have been James, Charlotte, Joshua, Kelly,
Lucy, Oliver, Tom....or any other who were in his class -- but he always went around
with two of his favourite companions. They weren't always friendly, but they did not
desert him absolutely, ever. They were a skinny, short, lovely creature with ruffled hair
called Day-dreams, and slim, rough-textured, brainy oddballs called Books.
So there we are with one more new friend -- Akela. Let us leave him battling with
Kumbhkaran as we all go back in time to know more about him. He does appear to be
interesting......and brave -- fighting demons, and being so friendly with two of the
loveliest immortals. But let me warn you that I cannot go too far into the past -- just
two hours. During that time I can read that person's thoughts also. You can say that
my time-machine doesn't go far, but it digs real deep. Some of you, I'm sure, must be

1
wanting to know my name as well. I don't have a name because I do not exist like you
all do, but if you insist you can all call me 'The Excavator'. That sounds like I've come
from Hollywood, and the connection pleases me.
With this let me whistle you back from Hollywood to where we can see Akela
approaching the ramp connecting Carey Street with the walk-way beside the river
Ouse. He is walking with his eyes looking far into nowhere, and I can tell you with my
experience that he is thinking something. Lets hurry, or we may miss some important
clue.
'Why hasn't Dhruv replied? I have written him two letters.....I've even made a long-
distance call and given my address to his mother.....he is my best friend, and we even
celebrated his dog's birthday by sharing our pocket-money to buy a star-studded green
dog-collar'. Akela is near the ramp now though his mind is more than five thousand
miles away in Ashok Vihar in Delhi in India. It is February here in York -- cool and
windy -- yet Akela has beads of perspiration on his forehead. It is as if the sun's heat
and a friend's indifference has crossed latitudes and longitudes and is now walking
together with him. All this confuses me The Excavator too at times, but don't worry
about me -- it is a part of my job, you see.
So now we know why Akela is feeling so sad and lonesome. O, come on Dhruv, you
can't possibly be so nonchalant about best friends. Peeping into minds is never a
pleasant experience, especially when I know that I can change nothing. But what do
we see now? Akela has started smiling. It is as if the cool wind gambolling on the
playful waves of the river suddenly decided to roll into a ball and hit Akela on the
face, saying, 'Come on, I'm just as lonesome. Lets be friends. Lets play.' A smile
always means a yes, and the wind is a fairly smart thing as it understands smiles very
fast.
Akela said, 'Meet my friend 'The Magic Finger'. We've been together for many months
now.' And the wind said hello in its own special way by rifling through the pages of
that book by Roald Dahl. You can't really be friends unless you know a person
thoroughly, you see. After this, the wind stood on its toes, whistled, and said, 'I like
your friend, Akela.'
'You read faster than even I can.' Akela said, almost out of breathe, after watching this
windy readathon.
'O, thats nothing. I once met a big man who had a nose like a pig's snout that he used

2
to smell books,' said the wind, and with a pause that whirled and carried a few dry
leaves upwards, continued, 'he was carrying home an impressive pile of thirty books
that he had bought from a second-hand book-shop when I met him.'
'That must have taken you a long time', gasped Akela.
'Yes, it did. I wasn't feeling very strong that day. But the worst part was the way he
stared at me later.....and I know he was not intending to read any of those books',
replied the wind.
Before Akela could say anything else, the wind started speaking again. Winds are
quite predictable, you know....and they are rather fond of talking, especially when it is
about their own exploits.
They kept-on talking and walking, whistling and blowing......until they reached the
Blue Bridge. This bridge is on the little river Foss at the point where it meets the
bigger and broader river Ouse. Its railings are painted blue, and that gives it its name.
There on the lift-up Blue Bridge the wind got an emergency call to create a difficult
patch for the practising rowing team, and Akela found himself leaning against its cold
blue railing.
'Come with me if you want to watch me lift this bridge up ', said a voice from behind
him. 'I'm Jane. I work on the River Duchess, and I have to lift the bridge up now for
our cruise ship to go on the Ouse.'
As Akela watched the slim but strong Jane rotate the half-moon wheel that lifted the
bridge up, a snippet from his past knocked to enter. With his friend Day-dream, Akela
zoomed with that snippet from the past and watched himself fall many times on the
hard concrete of the open-air skating-rink in the backfield of his school in Delhi. He
also recollected how he was unable to carry the Pogo-stick from the Argos store near
lower Ouse Gate to Frances Street, where he stayed with his parents. They were
going to be here for another three years until both his mother as well as his father
completed their studies at the University.
'I'm not strong. I couldn't carry that Pogo-stick that day', he thought. But he must
have said that aloud because Jane looked at him, smiled, and said, 'Even I wasn't
strong when I was your age. Then I started going to Rowntree Park every day....and
there I played, and played, and played.....until I became strong.'
'Where is this magic park?' asked Akela.
'There, on the other side of the river', replied Jane, pointing to something that was

3
hidden by trees, and then continued, 'you cross Skeldergate, come to the river-walk
on the other side of the river, keep walking until you reach the park.'
'I'll be able to see the Blue bridge from there?' he stated an uncertain query.
'You can, if you're outside the park', laughed Jane, and then becoming serious, said,
'but if you want to become as strong as I am, you'll have to go in. You'll have to play,
and play, and play....' saying this she jumped on the waiting cruise and they sailed off
for their day's business.
Akela started his slow dreamy walk to the magic-land of the Rowntree Park.
'There we are then,' said The Excavator, 'two hours isn't much, but I surely do know
Akela as well as a part of his own past. He is still playing in his own mind. What he
needs is friends, and friends, and friends.......'
I do not know whether Akela made any new friends or not......or how soon he made
friends. I keep hopping from one person to another, from two-hours to two-hours, so
to say......but my experience tells me that Akela must have found many new
friends....don't we all keep looking for friends?
Don't we all find friends?