Thoughts (Story)

By Sunil Subedi, Damak, Jhapa

A boy named Arun Aacharya used to live with his parents in Birtamod. His dad Mr. Bijay Aacharya owned a department store in town, and had a dream that somday his son Arun would handle the store. But Arun was deviated from his father’s dream. He was not much of his dad’s kind of guy, he loved music and always wanted to be in musical field. He used to make his own compositions and perform them in front of his friends and in college, he would do part time job in a hotel, the only place where he could show up himself in music. But Mr. Bijay didn’t like that part of Arun, and his mom Mrs. Saradha also always agreed with Mr. Bijay. In this case they often talked at cross-purposes.

Mr. Bijay often used to say Arun “instead of moping around all the time, you should come to the store, the only thing I have and you have to look after it.”

Mr. Bijay never leaved it up to Arun to use his discretion. But Arun had two friends Dev and Yaman and his love Aachal who would always support him. Dev and Yaman were brothers who grew up with Arun, Aachal was met in college. All four of them were at the same college in management field. Dev and Yaman’s dad Mr. Sanjiv Bhattarai was in a shoes business in the valley, Kathmandu. Aachal’s dad Mr. Yagyaraj khanal was a writer. Boys were planning to go to Kathmandu with their dad after graduating, so they could support him in business. Aachal too wanted to engage in some kind of job at the same city, Dev and Yaman were planning to go. But Arun was hallow with no plans, he couldn’t do things he felt for because his parents wouldn’t let him. He was losing his mind, and it was there final year. The one last year of the college.

It was back in February on Arun’s 24^th birthday when his father gave him a key of his store saying that it was not just a key, it was a key for his future. Arun wasn’t happy that time, and he didn’t speak much. After having dinner he got a call by Dev. His friends arranged a birthday bash for him, then he just left. When he went there the party was huge, everybody enjoyed a lot. After that party it was late at night and Arun wanted to go home.

“Off I go then, see you guys, goodnight”

“Okay. Goodnight, and once again happy birthday.” Aachal said.

When he went home his father was standing right in front of door. Arun didn’t ask when he leaved, and he was out with his friends for a whole day. Mr. Bijay scolded him for arriving late.

“Where have you been whole day?”

“Sorry dad, I forgot to tell that my friends arranged a party for me.”

“You and your friends, hanging with buddies all the time is not life, I thought you understood me before but.”

After that conversation both Mr. Bijay and Mrs. Saradha walked into their room, they never understood Arun. During those days their exams was near, and in exams all did well, after few days later all of them had their final goodbyes to each other. Dev and Yaman went to Kathmandu and stayed with their father Mr. Sanjeev to learn their business, so they could navigate it in the future. Aachal also shifted to Kathmandu, she got a job in a well-established bank. As the years passed by all three of them became almost contactless with Arun. Arun was handling his dad’s store those days, his dad made him quit his job in hotel. Arun was desperated, his dreams were vanished, all the time he wished for his friends solace. But one day Arun faced his father. He asked Mr. Bijay’s perception on life. Mr. Bijay had no idea where he was going with that but also he answered Arun that to be well established,to be happy, to have a secured future was life for him.

“There are some people who try to be more practical securing their life. And there are other kind of people who do nothing, but enjoy their life by doing things in their terms. That’s supposed to be the actual life, when you don’t have any regrets but have actual satisfaction.” Arun responded.

“Whats your point?”

“All I’m tryn’na say is, just finance me in music. Why don’t you sell the store?”

“Oh, now this is the point huh! I should’ve seen that coming.”

Mr. Bijay was intemperate. He said everything he had to say, he reiterated his philosophy on Arun. All Mr. Bijay was thinking at that time was about his store and the the word ‘selling’, he couldn’t put that out of his mind. Instead of thinking for a second what Arun was trying to say. After that without having a word Arun left for his room. He felt that he was ruined by his parents, he relapsed in his thoughts and didn’t sleep that night. It was traumatic. Next day in the morning Arun wasn’t home. His parents searched everywhere but couldn’t find him. It seemed like he abandoned the house. For some days they searched for him but after that they thought that Arun was doing so to obliged them to agree with him. His actions made his parents to recognized him as a worthless son, who was good for nothing although they flashed his missing in a paper. People started to make rumours that Arun was mentally disturbed, he wasn’t normal. And later on those rumours became true at some point for everyone because everyone would see him doing nothing. They knew that he wasn’t good with his parents neither he was friendly in neighbourhood, he was a loner and disturbed. People thought, that might be the reason Arun left home, those rumours on Arun was widely disseminated.

Few weeks later Arun’s friends were back in town. They read the newspaper stance on Arun and heard a lot about their friend that how people were slandering him. They were shocked at first and afraid for Arun and were feeling guilty for not being there when their friend needed them most. All three of them started to search Arun, after a month somehow Arun came in a contact with Aachal. He was staying with one of his cousin in a small place called Baigundhura, he urged Aachal not to tell anybody. Aachal agreed with him and went there. He explained her that how he was desperated, he saw nothing helping back in home, and his parents were too fussy for him, that’s why he ran away. Aachal didn’t know how to reinvigorate him but she entreated him to meet her father. She believed that her father as a writer was obviously broad and might understand Arun, or Arun might find a way for his problems. Arun agreed with her to meet her father. She secretly took Arun to her father. Mr. Yagyaraj was also in a problem at that time, he hadn’t published anything for a long time. Those days he was thinking of writing a story, but was in a chaos of the kind of a story. He wasn’t seeing anybody that time but when his daughter asked him to meet Arun to help him, he couldn’t say no to her. After that both Arun and Mr. Yagyaraj started their conversation. Arun explained him that his parents never understood him.

“My parents never understands me sir, they got different view and thinking then I do.”

“Look Arun ‘Thinking’ is a mental activity to evaluate things, and yes people have different point of view but thoughts can be manipulated.”

Mr. Yagyaraj was speaking slowly to persuade Arun. He told Arun that may be his way of trying didn’t work, and asked Arun to allow him to talk with his parents. But Arun became preposterous.

“Haa, talking is easy sir, don’t you think I tried? I almost tried everything in every way to convince them but they are fixed.”

“So what you gonna do? The guy like you only believe things when it happens in front of you or happens to you. What if I give you a practical example that thoughts can be manipulated in your own life?”

“Yes, you got me sir and of course! You can try me. I don’t wanna have this conversation anymore, I know my parents.” He quickly answered Mr. Yagyaraj with a smile.

“Haha, okay.” Mr. Yagyaraj too responded Arun with a smile.

That day Mr. Yagyaraj somehow persuaded Arun to go back home with the help of Aachal. While walking back in neighbourhood, everyone stared at him, he got different look that time. When he reached home and faced his parents, it was silent environment for a while. His parents were surprised to see him back because, first he abandoned the house and suddenly he was back, they were curious about that.

“Why you are back? What more trouble you can do?” Mrs. Saradha questioned Arun.

“I’m not here for trouble, and I never abandoned the house. I just needed some time to get fresh.”

“What the hell on earth makes you think we’ll believe you? And we don’t expect anything from you now.” Mr. Bijay said.

“I’m changed, I’m serious. You’ll believe me, it’s just a matter of time.” Arun responded his father.

After that long talk that Arun had with his parents almost in three months they all went to their rooms. Next morning Arun was nice in home. As the days passed by the distance between them became a bit low. Arun started to look after his store. His parents were astonished to see that change on him. But one day there was a robbery in the store. Nobody was killed but some of them got badly injured, except Arun, he didn’t have a scratch. Mr. Bijay got the news and went there, he called the cops and filed the complain immediately. Cops inspected the location and interrogated some of the staffs, but due to bad injury staffs couldn’t inform anything. So the cops planned to visit next day. Next day also when they started questioning staffs, they couldn’t find anything. But when they saw Arun well, they doubted him. Arun was shocked and angry at that time because it was his store, and he had alibi of being in the store when the incident took place. But that no scratching was raveling the mystery and police kept doubting him as a suspect in robbery. Neighbours also informed them that Arun was not much of a store kind of guy. But police were still in chaos because they didn’t know what and where the knot was missing. Mr. Bijay also doubted Arun and thought that he was back for that. Again the difference between Arun and his parents was at the same place as it was before. One day Mr. Bijay and Mrs. Saradha went out of town for business purposes, Arun was home alone, they left for three days. Arun called up his friends and discussed about the things happening those days.

“At first I was disturbed about myself. I left home, now when I’m back and doing okay with my family, suddenly this robbery thing? And I’m the one cops are doubting on? I mean I don’t know what the hell is goin’ on here?”

“Be patience, everything gonna be alright. Don’t ring bell in your mind.” Yaman sympathized Arun.

“Yeah, he’s right.”

“Yeah, just wait for good time coming, everything gonna be fine.” Dev and Aachal spoke too.

After that they tried to rejuvenate Arun, they talked about their good companies in past. Arun was little refreshed after that. It was late at night so they all went to sleep. Next day in the morning they all went to their own home. Arun was really alone this time, at night after having dinner he found that there was a problem in the faucet, at the same time he got a call from Mrs. Saradha that they were coming next day. So next day he woke up earlier and went out in search of plumber, he had to fix the faucet before his parents arrival. After an hour when he was back with plumber, there was a huge crowed in front of his house. As near as he went he heard a girl’s voice, when he reached there he saw his parents had already arrived there. And there was a girl shouting and raving at Arun, she claimed that Arun was in love with her from college days and when she asked for marriage he refused her.

“My name is sheetal, we’re in love from our college days, I shifted to Pokhara a year ago, but we always keep our contacts. While being here I always meet Arun, now it’s been a long time we have our relationship, so I asked to marry me but he refused my proposal and started acting like a stranger. He used me, because of his behavior in recent days now I think he might have used many other girls like me.”

  While Arun confronted with Sheetal, he was blank and in chaos that why she was there with such an issue. He tried to clear things up, the people wouldn’t let him. Because people had a concept that a girl never bluff about their reputation and they had many reason to point finger on Arun. He was always disturbed and wasn’t good in neighbourhood and with parents, and that store case was also hitting on him. But Arun called his friends for an explanation. They went there and explained that it was true that Sheetal was in love with Arun, but for Arun it was not likewise. Her love was one sided and they also cleared that Sheetal was being contactless with them after graduating. But people didn’t believed them because they knew that his friends would always support him. Both Sheetal and Arun’s view were highly contentious and people were on Sheetal’s side. Arun felt isolated in his own society. He plead Sheetal for her probity but she didn’t respond him. He started to laugh at people, thinking what they were talking and how they were perceiving everything. People were curious about his laughing. His actions from past few months made people to recognized him as mentally not normal, for leaving home once and his sudden back, the case of robbery and the talk of Sheetal were pointing Arun as a mentally disturbed guy. Everyone suggested to put him in an asylum for a treatment and his parents also felt that right to put him there. Arun was kept in an lunatic asylum for three years. His parents thought that they should have put him earlier. It was being traumatic experience for Arun. While it was been seven months Arun had been in asylum, Mr. Yagyaraj published a story, the story became so popular that the press conference was held. When the conference was start, one of the man from media asked.

“Sir what’s the story?

“Yeah and what’s the title ‘thoughts’ stands for?” Everybody started to question.

“Well my story is prescribed for intensive study. ‘Thoughts’ is a story based on human psychology which deals with the perception between the younger and the older people. Story is about a boy and his experiences in life and the differences between him and his parents, where he thinks that the difference is due to the generation gap.”

“What’s the motto sir?” media.

“Story starts with the so called generation gap but ends proving that there’s nothing like generation gap. And thinking is a mental activity to evaluate things, although people have different point of view, thoughts can be manipulated.”

“That means?”

“That means there’s nothing like different thinking that we can’t change between older and younger people, and this story explains that. For further details you have to read the story.”

“One last question sir. When you gonna give readers your another writing?”

“I don’t know, whenever I get hint on something, I’ll provide their doze.” He said with a smile.

Mr. Yagyaraj finished his talk with media. Media too got everything they wanted to know. The conference went well.