I had just moved to a new residence in Bahrain,an apartment at which Basheer happened to have been working. And, it was in the flat right next to mine that Aidin lived. 

Aidin was from Turkey. When we met, he was running a restaurant in Bahrain. With all our frequent meetings and friendly banter, we had quickly became good friends.

Aidin was a very decent and gentle young man. But it was the bad company he kept that changed his life.
As time went by, Aidin slipped into a lazy lifestyle. As things continued in this manner for a while, Aidin’s business began going into a loss. And though he paid off all his debts with the money he got from selling his restaurant, he was entirely ruined.

It was when he was sitting in this state of financial ruin that he was further depressed by a phone call from his hometown to tell him that his mother had gotten into an accident, that it was quite serious, and that he needed to come home quickly.
On hearing this news, he became completely devastated. He began crying, I tried to console him by telling him that we will first look for a way to book a ticket back home and that he should just stay calm for now.

That was when Basheer came over. Basheer inquired about everything, and then, without saying anything, he went into Aidin’s flat. After a minute, he came back with three big tins in his hands.

Basheer broke one of the tins and then emptied it onto the table we were sitting at.

Basheer  he said, “Sir, all the money in these tins belongs to you. For the last three years, whenever I came to clean your flat, I would find all this change in your laundry.

As the years went by, the number of tins grew and that he had no idea how much money in total had been collected.

We broke the other two tins as well and then counted all the money: a total of 714 dinars.

Sobbing like a little child, Aidin cried that this would be enough, enough for the two days it will take to figure out a way to take care of his mother, and then he hugged Basheer.

I too was feeling all sorts of things. After taking his leave from us, Aidin left for Turkey the very same day.
Once Basheer had gone back home, I did not hear from him again. After four years, on a phone call with Aidin, he brought up wanting to see Basheer in person again.

I told Aidin that I was going to Kerala anyway. And, like that, as per Aidin’s wish, I have set out on this journey in search of Basheer.
Once I reached the place that Basheer had told me about back then, I got off the bus and began walking about with the intention of asking around about him. After searching for a long time, I finally found his house. I was in a strange state of mind. I imagined his face on seeing me so unexpectedly, and I figured he would have a lot to fill me in about. I too had a lot to tell him, and I knew he would be happy to see me, his unexpected guest.

When I rang the doorbell, a lady came to the door. When she saw me, her face lit up as though we were meeting after a long time. I asked her if this was the house of the same Basheer who had worked in Bahrain. Confirming that it was, she smilingly seated me on the porch. “You are Basheer’s...?” I asked. “I knew Basheer when he was in Bahrain, and I just thought I would drop by since I was in Kerala,” I told her. 

“Is Basheer not here?”

 “It’s been a year since my husband died.” I was shocked on hearing this unexpected reply. “I have seen you in my husband’s photos. I recognized you when I first saw you itself.”  

She told me that he would always tell her about his life in Bahrain. Though I was feeling much despair, when Aidin calls later, what should I tell him?  As I expected, Aidin called eagerly, “Hello, how did it go? 

Did you find anything about Basheer?”

 “No, I’m sorry, but I could not find Basheer. 

I looked for a long time, but found nothing.”

 I did not want Aidin to know that Basheer was no more. No matter which corner of the world he was in, I wanted Basheer and his good memories to stay alive in Aidin’s mind. That is better. 

Waiting for the next ride back to the city, I sat waiting at a bus stop.