From Pakistan to Greenwich Village
Chapter 14 of “Hold On”: New York City, 2012
(N.B. I’m writing a novel, a chapter a week, here on Medium. Find out why I write here, start from Chapter 1 here, and always feel free to give me feedback in the comments. I write here for the community.)
Ahmad woke up and looked at his watch. It was 5 am. He tried to sleep again but could not. He just looked at his cell phone to stare at the photo of Hira that he had taken after their last meeting before he left for New York City (NYC).
He had said hesitantly to Hira, “umm…umm, I was… I was wondering if I….can take your picture to go with me to New York. It’s okay if you are not comfortable with your picture being taken.”
Hira laughed and said, “Ahmad how can I say no to you?”.
Ahmad had dropped a text message to Hira after reaching NYC and said that he would call her after settling. Yesterday he dropped her a message saying he would call her at 3 pm Pakistan time. It would be 6 am in NYC. Hira would be at the university at that time as it would not be possible for her to take Ahmad’s call at home. Her father usually picked her up at 4 pm.
Ahmad stared at Hira’s photo for a little longer and then looked at his watch again. It was 5:30 am. Ahmad got up from the bed and looked outside the tiny window. His room was hardly big enough for him to take two steps. He could see the NYC skyline which was enveloped in the receding dusk. The city looked eerily beautiful at this time. He went outside to use the shared washroom. Ahmad had wanted to live in a dormitory, but his father asked him to rent a separate room to avoid the purported party atmosphere in hostels. He wanted Ahmad to focus on his studies, so he asked him to find a room in the city. Ahmad’s father had offered a generous budget.
Ahmad called Hira exactly at 6 am and she quickly picked up the phone. After the usual greetings, Hira asked Ahmad about life in NYC. Ahmad responded by sharing how lost he had felt in the last few days, trying to find the different buildings of New York University in Manhattan. “Then yesterday I learned about the grid structure of roads and streets and it became so easy. Hira, I am really enjoying this neighborhood, Greenwich. The university is only a few steps away, and the room and building are not as nice but I love walking in the streets of Greenwich. It is so vibrant. There are small restaurants, bars and other food places along the street and tiny apartments upstairs with 3 to 4 tiny rooms.”
Then Ahmad coughed a bit and asked Hira how she was doing. Hira told him that these past few days had been difficult for her. When she went to places in the university where they had sat together it simply upset her. Sadia had also noted her sadness and had given her space to settle.
Hira said, “It just hurts to see the same bench and tree where we used to sit and now I can’t see you there. I can’t even tell anyone how I am feeling. I never realized I would feel so lonely in your absence. I could not have known that the small talk after every class and having lunch together were so important to me. I never realized it”.
Ahmad said, “Hira, I understand you and that’s what I’ve also been going through. There is a hustling bustling city around me and I am enjoying exploring and seeing this new world. But everything I see I wish you could see with me. I feel this sadness inside me. But don’t worry, we will talk more often. I will try to talk to you at least once a week. My classes started yesterday and I enjoyed my first day. It is so different how professors here greet you and ask you not to call them Sir. One of the professors even told us that he will soon invite some international students to his apartment. This seemed unbelievable to me. Back home, no professor ever invited students home for tea. The library is so huge and open 24/7. I think will be spending most of my time in the library or Washington Square Park outside of my classes”.
