Everyone

“Suddenly, due to the rush, he stumbled and fell, holding his forehead and sitting right there.”

Thursday, 2 September 2021

Ussaid-ur-Rehman, Karachi

A man was walking along the road when suddenly his eyes fell on a five-thousand-rupee note. It was stuck under the tire of a car parked on the side of the road. He looked around to see if anyone was watching. Then he sat near the tire and tried hard to pull the note out, but it would not come free.

He tried to open the car door, but it was locked.

He attempted to push the car, but it did not move even an inch.

Tired and frustrated, he crossed the road and sat in an open-air café across the street, which was completely full. He placed his chair at an angle from where he could keep an eye on the car.

Suddenly, a football bounced and stopped near the tire. His heart began to race as he shifted uneasily in his chair. A boy, to whom the football belonged, came, kicked it away, and left.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

Then a woman stopped near the car. She placed her basket on the ground and wiped sweat from her face. The man nervously cracked his fingers, but after she left, he finally relaxed. Just then, a street sweeper arrived and started cleaning the road. His condition worsened—now the note was surely gone.

Fortunately, the sweeper did not notice the note and left after sweeping around.

Suddenly, a man arrived swiftly, twirling car keys around his finger. He opened the car door, got in, and drove away.

The man had just stood up and looked around when suddenly everyone sitting in the café rushed toward the spot where the note had been. In the sudden chaos, he stumbled and fell, holding his forehead and sitting right there.

The afternoon sun hung heavily over the road, and the noise of traffic blended with the chatter of people sitting in the open-air café across the street. The man was walking casually, lost in his own thoughts, when something unusual caught his eye. Beneath the tire of a parked car lay a crisp five-thousand-rupee note, partially visible, as if teasing him.

His heart skipped a beat.

He slowed his steps and glanced around. No one seemed to be paying attention. Carefully, he crouched near the tire and tried to pull the note out with his fingers. It refused to budge. He tried again, this time using more force, but the note remained stubbornly trapped under the weight of the car.

A wave of frustration washed over him. He straightened up and tried the car door, hoping it might be unlocked. It wasn’t. He then placed both hands on the car and attempted to push it slightly forward, but the car did not move at all. It was as if fate itself was standing in his way.

Exhausted, he crossed the road and entered the open-air café. Every table was occupied, and the place buzzed with conversation. He dragged a chair to a position from where the car remained clearly visible. Sitting there, he pretended to relax, but his eyes never left the tire.

Moments later, a football bounced toward the car and came to rest near the trapped note. The man’s heart began to pound loudly. What if the ball hit the note and pushed it out? Or worse, what if someone noticed it?

A young boy ran toward the ball, kicked it away without noticing anything unusual, and disappeared. The man let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

Soon after, a woman approached the car carrying a basket. She stopped beside it, placed the basket on the ground, and wiped sweat from her forehead. The man’s fingers nervously cracked as he watched her every movement. After a few moments, she picked up her basket and left. Once again, nothing happened.

Just as he began to feel hopeful, a street sweeper appeared with a broom in hand. Panic tightened his chest. Surely the sweeper would see the note and pick it up. His entire body tensed as the broom swept dangerously close to the tire.

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