Page 68 - TEARS OF SUFFERING

TEARS OF SUFFERING

“Yeah, I knew people wouldn’t believe me, so I kept it to
myself.”

“Tell me, how’d you land up here? I mean who brought
you to Thimphu—”

“You think you have the guts to listen to my story?” said
Ugyen, sitting on the culvert. “Fine, listen to me then.”
He narrated his anecdote from his birth to the time he
was brought into that palatial dwelling.

Tshoden eyes welled up with tears. She never thought her
best friend would have borne such hardships, and when
he choked on the words at the hardest part of the story,
she let her sleek hair over her face and sniffled. “It’s okay.
Everybody has to die one day or the other.”

Ugyen cleared his throat and grinned at her. “So,
where’re you going?”

“I am going to my village.” She blinked at him sadly. “I
am gonna miss you.”

“Yeah, I am gonna miss you, too.”

For some time, they sat, staring at the branches of the
willow trees swaying in the afternoon breeze. It brought
them a soothing vibe but a pang of separation loomed
around them.

“I think we should go home,” said Ugyen.

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