A Picture's Worth | Autumn Struck

Autumn Struck

“So, what do you guys think?” asked Shahid nervously.

“It’s not half bad” replied Kaleem, with a twisted little smile that he was trying to hide but failing.

“What he means is that he is glad he didn’t go ‘beast mode’ over your choice of place this time around” intervened Saalis, excited by the fact that their vacations will not go to waste due to a poor choice of venue. “This place is amazing!”

“No! More like I said, not half bad.” Said Kaleem, sticking to his choice of words.

Shahid had always been the silent observer in their group, who only parted with his opinions when directly asked for. If no one were to show interest, he’d kept his thoughts to himself, even though, he might be the one out of their gang who had the most experience in almost all things. Yet he never found himself confident enough to force his opinion or experience over anyone else’s. That is just the way he was.

Kaleem, on the other had was the talkative one, or should I say the dominant one, or the wannabe “Alpha”, if you please. No matter what someone brought to the table, Kaleem had something to say about it. You speak of an achievement, Kaleem knows someone who has done it better. You talk of a new technology, Kaleem “knew about it” years ago. And should you ever suggest a place to visit, it is always “nothing” compared to what Kaleem has in mind. And finally, Saalis is the bridge between the two.

But this time, for the first time in history of their clique, when Shahid suggested a place to visit, Kaleem silently agreed. Strange as it was; for Shahid spoke up without being asked, and Kaleem didn’t take a shot on such a sitting duck; it happened. And here they all are now, not regretting a single event from that oddity of events.

“I always had faith in your choice Shahid”, Janna finally spoke. Janna being the only girl in their group of four, and being of foreign descent, was very open to things our locals are not used to. Young, pretty, bold and agreeable is how anyone would describe her. These properties alone are enough to make any young man fall in love with her, and funnily enough, all three of them secretly did.

A couple of years back, when she entered the class, that very day Kaleem sort’a called dibbs on her pretty openly. He often expressed his love, loud and clear for the whole varsity to listen, but always in a funny, almost comical fashion. It was annoying for Janna in the beginning, but when she slowly got to know the guys a little better, she just accepted it as Kaleem’s “goof-ball” mode. It never occurred to her that he might actually be serious.

This straightforward expression of Kaleem bound Saalis in an unsaid honor-bond between friends. He could never express his feelings for her without betraying one of his best friends. So he caught all those stray feelings and locked them in a chest and threw it in the deepest pit of his heart. Honestly, after two years, it was almost as if those feelings were never real.

But Janna herself was secretly sweet on Shahid. Since he never said anything about any such thing, Janna too was shy, and afraid to show him the shape of her heart as well.

Back to the scene at hand. “I didn’t doubt him either. At least, not this time around.” Kaleem giggled a little as he said this. “But I am glad it went the way it did. There is something strangely calming and peaceful about this place.”

“Let’s find a place to sit, shall we?” Saalis spoke up. “I see benches in the back. Let’s just go sit there, relax, and we’ll leave in the evening. Or not. Maybe we’ll just stay here forever.”

As they started walking towards the benches, they totally missed out on the fact that Shahid was subtly pointing towards a different place to sit. He had been here in the past quite a few times and he always sat on the ground under the shade of a tree a little to the left from where the vantage point is focused entirely on this huge autumn struck tree. To him, staring at the tree for hours on brought some sort of inner bliss; the kind you get when you meet a familiar soul.

Suddenly Kaleem said: “Wait! I might’ve spotted a better place.” And he pointed towards the same place Shahid wanted to show them a moment ago. Maybe he saw his subtle gesture, or maybe he spotted it by himself, he’ll never know. As they arrived the place and examined the surroundings, they unanimously agreed that this was a better choice than the benches.

“Well spotted Kaleem! You have a good eye.” As Jana complimented Kaleem, Shahid knew he was the one who truly deserved it, yet he said nothing. Although he would’ve loved to be complimented by Janna. But he knew in his heart of hearts she’d never want to be with someone like him. She only bears his presence for the sake of Kaleem.

“Thanks my love!” said Kaleem in his standard corny way. “Although it’s not just one eye that’s good in me. Someday you’ll see.”

“Oh shut up!” Janna and Saalis both spoke up at the same time.

“Focus on the view at hand.” Saalis continued. “Fill your soul with it. You won’t get this opportunity every day.”

“I still can’t point out what it is, but something about this place is hauntingly beautiful.” Said Kaleem. “I mean, I’ve been to places like this before, but something here adds a strange melancholy to the mood and it is oddly satisfying”.

Shahid wanted to shout: “It’s the tree! IT’S THE TREE!” but he didn’t as it was merely his opinion. Maybe it was something else for others. But to him this tree, that never sprouted green and always filled the scape with autumn colors even in the spring, was the highlight of it all.

A couple of hours went by, some of that time in deep thought, other in small talk, and now they all wanted a snack. So they all walked up to the guy selling corn under the very same tree.

“What! Only 5 rupees apiece?” Janna was amazed when the guy told them the price. She knew he could charge more. Everyone else was charging at least quadruple to that. Kaleem ordered 4 pieces and gave the guy a 20 rupee note. But Janna wanted to give him more. She also wanted to talk to him about his faulty strategy and placement. She wanted to tell him that he can earn a lot more if he moved closer to a market or housing, where there will be more customers, and they will easily pay more for his merchandise. So she did tell him all that. But he wasn’t very talkative. He too had that melancholy in his eyes this whole place exhibited. But Janna told him her better strategy nonetheless, to which he simply replied: “I’m perfectly fine right here.”

But why? Janna didn’t know. He didn’t seem much older than them. Where were his youthful aspirations and dreams? What made him give up on life so early in it? Why didn’t he even want to try? These were the questions she threw at her companions as they walked back to their spot. It appeared that for now, this is all she had in her mind. And as she went on about it, Shahid kept thinking to himself how anyone could resist falling in love with such a pure and compassionate heart, and how pathetically boring he was when compared to her. His train of thought was interrupted by a loud strange sound and as they all turned to look for its origin, they saw a child standing a little farther back from the “corn guy”. It was clear by his looks and the sound he made that the child was severely disabled, and the way the “corn guy” leaped up and ran to the child to tend to whatever he needed showed that he was his son. It was now clear to them why he was anchored to this place. And at that moment Shahid realized how some trees are struck by autumn early and they never recover, while others like himself wear it when convenient…

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This picture was taken by Capt_Pixel, an amazing photographer. All rights to this picture are reserved by Capt_Pixel. and we use his pictures at A Thousand Words after full disclosure and consent. Follow him on Instagram @capt_pixel