25 minutes

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And its noon here in my corner of the world. Well, not exactly, but it will be in 25 minutes. This seems to be a pure coincidence, as I muster the courage to keep tapping away at these plastic buttons, wondering how many microplastic pieces are seeping into my skin, while I sit in front of the window watching pseudo intellectuals smoke cigarettes and talk in faux english accents about how they flights to new york and how they have a love hate relationship with Pakistan.  These people are so far removed from the actual burdens of the common man in Pakistan that it is both sad and hilarious. Yet it is these people that run the country. While not even living in the country. How strange is that?  I really feel this is one of the few places in the world that can boast this kind of synergy.  The interesting thing is that their conversations consist primarily of these things:  1. How burdened they are living their luxurious lives 2. How they need to make the next chunk of c...
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The nights the trees whistled

About 10 years ago, I knocked on a door, but not before forcing a smile. It opened and I looked down to see a little girl with jet black hair, no more than 4 standing in the doorway just staring at me. Before I could say a word, she started speaking in fluent Punjabi, asking why I was there; was I there to give her Pizza? She had been waiting for her Pizza.

I instinctively started laughing, something I had been having trouble doing for a while 

My laughter triggered quick footsteps from within the house and a middle-aged gentleman came to the door. After glaring at the child he spoke to me in English, we exchanged the Pizza and the money. And as I turned to leave, the child pointed at me and said "Punjabi"

The gentleman looked at her and me and then asked me, in Punjabi, if I was Punjabi. I laughed and said I was, but not from where he was thinking. We ended up standing in the doorway for the next ten minutes, exchanging stories of hot summers and ceiling fans of unkempt gardens and the noise a Rickshaw makes, speaking candidly like we knew each other for years. 

He invited me in for tea, I declined saying I had to complete my shift. So instead he gave me some words of encouragement, told me he knew what it was like and he knew my parents would be proud if they could see how hard I was working 

I hadnt said a word about my troubles, maybe he could just see it on my face. I said nothing, thanked him and left

The trees were whistling around me, and it was chilly, but I walked away from that conversation feeling much warmer on the inside. I had needed that, Im sure even that man didn't understand how much it meant to me at the time because every now and then I think of that night and the kindness of a stranger

Be considerate to everyone around you, people remember how you make them feel, a random conversation you have with a stranger might be something they remember even decades later

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