The Road and the Circuit By Ishfaq Ali

Friendship isn't about fancy titles or what jobs you do — it's about who you really are, the loyalty you show, and the promises you keep over time. This is the real story of two friends, Arjun and Rafiq, whose bond grew stronger even though they lived far apart — one in the city, the other in the village, one in a classroom, the other on the open road.

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1.

Childhood Under the Banyan Tree

In a peaceful village surrounded by green hills and golden wheat fields, two boys ran barefoot through dusty streets, their laughter echoing like the sound of temple bells.

They grew up under the same sky and the same big banyan tree that stood strong and watchful in the middle of the village.

Arjun was quiet and thoughtful.

He loved to think, ask questions, and mess around with broken radios. He would twist copper wires into shapes and draw diagrams on the ground with a stick. Even as a kid, he dreamed of machines and blueprints.

Rafiq was always moving.

He rode his father’s old bicycle with wild excitement, arms stretching out like wings, feeling every breeze like it was freedom. He wasn’t into books but had a heart that understood people, feelings, and roads.

They were different in many ways — but in spirit, they were as one.

Loyal, inseparable, and proud of each other.

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2.

Life Moves Forward, But Never Apart

Years passed, and their friendship only got stronger.

They shared lunchboxes filled with parathas and pickles. They skipped stones on the river and talked about big dreams — one would design planes, the other would fly them.

When Rafiq’s father got sick, it was Arjun’s mother who brought food over.

When Arjun couldn’t pay his school fees, it was Rafiq’s mother who quietly paid the difference, saying, “He’ll make us all proud one day. ”

The day Arjun left for the city to study engineering, they hugged for a long time at the bus stop.

Neither spoke for a while.

“Don’t forget me,” Rafiq finally said, voice shaking.

“As if I could,” Arjun replied, placing a hand on his chest.

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3.

Two Ways, One Trip

Life in the city was overwhelming.

Arjun worked hard, stayed up late, built circuits, learned software, and used up notebooks full of ideas. He missed home — the smell of wet earth, the open skies — and most of all, Rafiq.

Back in the village, Rafiq found his path behind the wheel.

He learned to drive trucks and soon knew every turn of the highway by heart. He became a man of the road — wind in his hair, dust in his beard, always singing.

Even though they were far apart, Arjun never missed a holiday.

Not to rest, but to live — to ride bicycles with Rafiq, steal mangoes like old times, and lie beneath the banyan tree counting stars.

One night, lying in silence, Arjun asked, “Why didn’t you ever come to the city?

”

Rafiq smiled, looking up at the tree.

“When one flies, someone has to hold the roots. We’re like two wheels on a cart — one on the left, the other on the right. We move together, always. ”

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4.

Brothers Without Blood

Years later, when Arjun opened his first mechanical workshop, the first person he called wasn’t an investor or a technician — it was Rafiq.

“Come be my partner,” he said.

“Partner?

” Rafiq laughed. “You want a truck driver at your machines? ”

“I want you,” Arjun said.

“To ride this road with me. ”

Rafiq didn’t hesitate.

He became the face of the business — handling deliveries, logistics, and customers. People came for service but stayed for the warmth: an engineer who drew designs on a chalkboard and a driver who told stories while pouring chai.

They didn’t wear uniforms.

They wore history. Mutual respect was their only job title.

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5.

The Long Road, Together

Now older, with silver streaks in their hair and laugh lines from decades of joy and struggle, Arjun and Rafiq still sit under their banyan tree — the same one that once heard their childhood secrets.

Arjun, now a man known for his ideas, holds a tattered notebook of machine sketches.

Rafiq, still as sharp on the road as ever, has stories to tell with a sparkle in his eye.

They didn’t just build careers.

They built each other.

And as long as wheels turn and roads stretch ahead, they will keep moving — one heart, two paths, one journey.