Act 1
Scene 4The transits are crammed packed. It’s around five in the evening and everybody is in a rush to get to home. Ali and Ahmad were a part of the crowd, desperate to get out of the transit and breathe some fresh air. They are on their way to Ali’s parent’s house to have dinner.
Ahmad: Okay, so what is mom cooking?
Ali: How would I know? I talked to her this morning, but I was in such a hurry that dinner was the last thing on my mind.
Ahmad: Well, I thought that maybe she told you something about the food.
Chinook Station
Ali: (steps aside to make way for the passengers leaving) You know what I think, I think… (Pauses to smile) You are just a little too hungry to think about anything else right now. You just came back from a job interview and all you can think about is food.
Ahmad: Oh so should I just block all the thoughts in my mind and think about the interview which has long been over? Wow, Ali!
Ali: Ahmad, come on, I wasn’t the one who was yarning on and on about how well the interview went.
Ahmad: Okay, so the interview was awesome and yes, I have high expectations but how can I think about anything else when I haven’t eaten in five hours? (Puts his hand in his pocket and pulls out his phone) I don’t even know why we are having this conversation. I'll just call mom myself and ask her about the food. You, Ali, are good for nothing; absolutely nothing.
Ali: (laughs) Okay, then, as you wish. Just so you know, we are almost there anyway. Why ruin the surprise?
Ahmad: Why isn’t anyone picking up? I am sure they are home. Daanngg…
Ali: Dad must be offering his prayers and mom must be busy with something. Just a few more minutes Ahmad and we are there.
Ahmad: Okay, yeah whatever. (Dials the number once again)
Ali: You really can’t be patient Ahmed, now can you? (smiles)
Ahmad: I am hungry Ali, really hungry. I can’t think of anything else right now. Do you have a gum?
Ali: Sorry bro. I don’t usually keep gum with me.
Ahmad: Obviously, why would you ever possess anything that could possibly work for my benefit?
Ali: (suppresses a laughter) Oh yes, now that is my fault too. Why am I not living my life according to your benefits? My bad!
Heritage Station
Ali and Ahmad walk towards the empty seats as the passengers walk out.
Ahmad: Okay whatever; I guess I can just wait. (looks out of the window for a while and then turns to look at Ali again) Anyway, so what’s your next destination? Any place interesting?
Ali: Ummm…. probably Halifax or Vancouver. I don’t know. I am not thinking much about it these days. This week it’s all about the family, it’s my time off! Why would I want to think about work? What about you, how was your dinner at Sara’s last week? Anything interesting I should look forward to finding out? (Grins playfully)
Ahmad: You know these stupid expressions of yours; I know they are meant to tease me. I am not a kid.
Ali: What expressions? (grins) Dang Ahmad! Should we just have this conversation after dinner?
Ahmad: Forget it. I am just going to answer your question. No, nothing interesting happened (pauses) I mean, I wouldn’t call the proceedings ‘interesting’ (frowns) It’s just that, I kinda lost control of my emotions and said a lot of things I shouldn’t have said, at least not on my first meeting with them.
Ali: What did you say?
Ahmad: Just something about mom and dad and their death…and… (plays with the phone in his hands) then some more things about blaming God for beings harsh to me. Not that they didn’t understand, they were really understanding…but..but.. Sara, she seemed kinda uncomfortable. Probably just cautious of what her dad might say… and I understand that… I don’t know Ali.
Ali: Ahmad, dude, so you said those things. What difference does that make? You weren’t lying. Things were harsh for you and you have gone through a lot. Why are you worried about it?
Ahmad: Umm... I don’t know. Ali, I am not uncertain about them, I am uncertain about myself. I don't know what to believe in, what to laugh at, what to call my own. It's just this conflict that has been consuming me these days. I have no idea what…(takes a deep breadth) Sara, she is the most wonderful thing… I don’t (shuts his eyes) I don’t want to lose her in my struggle to find something to believe in or whatever I am doing these days.
Ali: Ahmad, there is no struggle. You are just caught in a conflict within yourself. It’s a temporary thing. We belong to one religion Ahmad. We believe in one God. What questions do you have about that? Where are you getting all of this from?
Ahmad: Well, a month back there was this speaker at the university. He was an Afghani too. So I went to his session, I wanted to see what he had to say. It was supposed to be a discussion about 'Radicalism and the world to come'. It started off all political but he ended up talking about families in Afghanistan and how everyday hundreds of families lose their children to the war. And for some reason, his words have not left me alone ever since. I keep thinking about it over and over. I never gave it a thought before this but now that I do think about it, I wonder, why are things like that? Why can't it just friggin' stop? We belong to one religion but would it matter if we didn't belong to any religion at all? It all seems connected. All I want to know is, why is it like that?
Southland Station
Ali: Because it just is, Ahmad. We can't do anything about it. We just gotta be thankful to God that we are here, safe from all the brutality.
Ahmad: Thankful? For ourselves? Don't you think that's a little selfish? You, Sara.. you're all the same! Thankful to God for ourselves. What about those who are dying every single day Ali? What about my mom and my dad? And my family? My home? Does that leave any proof that an all-powerful being exists?
Ali: Ahmad, Ahmad! You've got it all wrong. You can't deny the supreme existence.
Ahmad: I don't know why I shouldn't..
Ali: (sighs)You know, it's just a temporary thing, this conflict. You're gonna get over it. Till then, let's just not talk about it anymore.
Ahmad: Yeah okay.. You are right. I guess it’s just temporary.
Ali: (pats Ahmad’s shoulder) It’ll be fine. Trust me; you don’t have to worry about everything. Some things just fall into places on their own.
Ahmad: I don't see that happening but whatever.
Silence takes over. Ahmad pulls out his iPod and focuses his attention on the world outside rushing past him.
No comments:
Post a Comment