MOST HANDSOME BOY IN THE

TOWN
BY -ARCHIT GOYAL

Andrew was a high school boy who lived in a small town in Merida, a small
town in Mexico. He was the most handsome among his siblings. Andrew
was the most handsome boy in the town. He was ½ Indian with a supple and
strange body, had mesmerizing eyes to go with it. He had long blonde and
silky hair like the actors of 90’s. His spirit was either very high or very low.
There was no in between for Andrew. Some people used to say he was
crazy. The dull ones used to say that. The dull ones would never understand
Andrew. They were always against him. He was the one who used to attract
all the girls of town which made others more jealous of him. Girls didn’t care
whether he was crazy or not. And Andrew danced and flirted, kissed the
girls and used to go on dates with different girls. He was liked by every girl in
town. He was even very sweet person and even his parents used to love him
more than his brothers.

His brothers accused him of misusing his looks , of not using his mind
enough , but Andrew had mind and spirit ; he used to play guitar, he
danced , he sang , he used to make small things with paper and when
people were hurt either in the spirit or the flesh , Andrew felt a deep
grieving for them. He was also very good in his studies. His mind was simply
different; his mind was simply not practical. His brothers were jealous of
him because he attracted their girls, and they were angry because they felt
he didn’t make the best use of them. He had a habit of being kind to the
uglier ones; the so called beautiful girls revolted him – “No guts”. He had a
temper that some came close to insanity, he had a temper that some call
insanity. He had very difficult time after the death of his father because of
alcohol. His mother ran off leaving the boys alone. The boys went to a
relative who placed them in a convent. The convent had been an unhappy
place, more for Andrews than his brothers. The boys of were jealous of
Andrew and Andrew fought most of them alone. His brothers were also
against of him. They used to tease him and made him do most of their work.
He had razor marks all along his right arm from defending himself in two
fights. There was also a permanent scar along the left eyebrow but the scar
rather than lessening his looks only seemed to highlight it. I met him at the
East West Bar several nights after his release from the convent. Being the
youngest, he was the last of the brothers to be released. He simply came in
and sat next to me. I was probably the average girl in town and this might
have had something to do with it. He actually seemed a very sweet guy but I
had heard many things about him which just seemed contrast.

“drink?” I asked.

“sure, why not ?”

I don’t suppose there was anything unusual in our conversation that night, it
was simply in the feeling Andrew gave, he choose me it was as simple as
that. No pressure. he liked the drinks and had a great number of them. He
didn’t seem quite of age but they served him anyhow. Perhaps he had
forget i.d., I don’t know. Anyhow, each time he came back from the
restroom and sat down next to me, I did feel some pride . he was not only
the most handsome man of the town but also one of the most handsome I
had ever seen. He placed his arm about my waist and kissed me once.

“do you think I m handsome?’ he asked

“yes , of course , but there’s something else .. there’s more than your
looks.”

“People are always accusing me of being handsome. What’s my mistake? I

don’t know why always people treat me like this. I m fed up of all this. Do
you really think I’m handsome?”

“Handsome isn’t the word , it hardly does you fair.”

Andrew then looked for something in his pocket. I thought he was looking
for his handkerchief. I offered him paper napkin. But he came out with a
long hatpin. Before I could stop him he had run this long hatpin through his
nose, sideways, just above the nostrils. I felt disgust and horror. I got very
nervous I wasnt able to see him like that. I was getting negative vibes and
feeling very bad. He looked at me and laughed, “now do you think me
handsome? what do you think now, woman?” I pulled the hatpin out and
held my handkerchief over the bleeding. Several people, including the
bartender, had seen the act. The bartender came down:

“look” he said to Andrew, “you act up again and you are out. We don’t need
your dramatics here.”

“oh fuck you bastard!” he said

“better keep him straight,” the bartender said to me.

“he’ll be all right,” I replied.

"It's my nose, I can do what I want with my nose."

“no,” I said,” it hurts me”

“you mean it hurts you when I stick pin in my nose?”

“yes, it does , I mean it.”

“all right, I won’t do it again. Cheer up “

He kissed me, rather grinning through the kiss and holding the handkerchief
to his nose. We left for my place at closing time. I had some beer and we sat
their talking. It was then that I got the perception of him as a person full of
kindness and caring . He gave himself away without knowing it. At the same
time he would leap back into areas of wildness and incoherence. Many could
have ruin him forever. I hoped it wouldn’t be me.
After sometime he started telling how people treat him. Andrews tells that he
doesn’t know why people act that way. He thinks that he hasn’t done
anything wrong with them . I was feeling very bad for him .

In the morning I got and made a couple of coffees, brought him one in bed.
He was looking better now. Then he says that he will have coffee after he
comes back from restroom.

Andrew went into the bathroom. He came out shortly , looking quite
wonderful , his blonde hair were shining and his eyes glistening.

“What’s your name?” I asked.

“what the hell difference does it make ?” he asked.

Then I guide him the way back to the bar. I wasn’t working and I slept until
2pm then got up and read the paper. I saw the Andrew coming and then he
sat along with me. Then we started talking . After some while I made him
something to eat. He then told me about his past, about his brothers and his
mom and dad. He was looking such an innocent guy.

Almost everyday Andrew arrived in the evening . Everyday we used to talk

sharing something about their life. And then we’d make love. One or two
nights he phoned and I had to bail him out of jail for drunkenness and
fighting. He told me that how people used to treat him without any reason.”
They used to fight with me for talking to their friends” he says. He tells that
his brothers are very cruel to him.

I wanted to help him but I was unable to do that as my parents were having
divorce and they were fighting with each other just to because of me as who
will be keeping me. Due to this I lost contact with him for few days as
everything in the house was going to fast as due to separation process so it
was decided that my mother can keep me with her. As my mother had no
place to live in so she decided to shift with her parents due to which I also
had to shift with her. As things were going too fast I couldn’t get time to tell
Andrew as how much I love him and that I m leaving the town and moving
out of here. So after some days I thought of writing a letter to Andrew telling
him about what all has happened with me and asking him whether he is fine
or not, so I wrote a letter explaining him what all happened with me and
asking him how his life is going on. So I decided to post it next day morning
as it was late at night.

On the next morning as I woke up I decided to have breakfast and then go to

post the letter, so while having breakfast I came across a news stating a boy
committed suicide from the cliff. So while reading the article I came across
that this boy belongs to Merida, so I got scared that whether the boy is
Andrew only, and my intuition was right as the name of the boy was Andrew
only . I felt so bad for him as I was not there there for him as when he needed
me the most.

So I went back to Merida to attend his funeral, as he was my very good

friend, and I came across a letter that was written by him before he
committed suicide, which mentioned his mental condition as it was hard for
him to survive any further also he mentioned about me that I was his good
friend and mentioned that I played an important part in his life as he got a lot
of support and courage to live. He also wrote that he loved me a lot but could
not convey me and I felt too pity on him, I started crying as I lost my friend
as well as the person whom I loved the most.
I learned a lesson that day that one should be quick in telling the emotions
that a person has for others as life is too short to wait for the right time as I
did and I still regret the decision I made to wait.