"Room number 69?" I asked a half-asleep man at the reception.
"Second floor," he mumbled.
It was one of the shadiest lodges in town.
I had my appointment at 12 AM.
Satan's hour as my friend always calls it.
12:04 AM;
I knocked on the door of room number 69.
I gasped as the door clicked.
I stepped inside and locked the door behind me.
My friend had set me up with this person.
I entered a dimly lit room.
6Ć4 cot on the left. A bathroom towards the far right.
There was a window that faced the main road.
TV was on low volume.
2:40 AM;
I'm riding back home in an auto, writing my first draft of an experience.
An experience that changed my life.
Desperate times, desperate measures.
From life changing moments to lessons for a lifetime.
This was a night that changed my life, completely.
12:07 AM;
She lay on her side, absolutely staring at me.
She was beautiful!
I sat on a chair at an armās length from the cot.
"Nervous?" she asks.
"This is my first time," I whisper.
"Letās do it then?" She looked at me.
"I never wanted this," I pushed the chair back.
The chair scraped loudly against the floor.
She was surprised.
"I'll pay you your fee; I'll pay you extra. I just wanna leave.
I stood up, taking my wallet out.
"Well, I charge on an hourly basis. Itās not even 10 minutes," she looked puzzled.
"I'll pay you whatever the amount is," I offered.
"Sit down, why did you even end up calling me?" she laughed.
"I didn't call you, my friend did," I corrected.
"Whoever it may be. What's the issue kid?" she seemed concerned.
"I don't want to talk about it," I said.
I could've done terribly wrong things that night, but I didn't.
We sat down and discussed life issues.
We spoke, we spoke a lot.
We laughed, we pointed out each otherās mistakes.
She was a person who enlightened me and it would be a sin to call her a Hooker.
It is for nights like these I look forward to, other than late night football.
Life changing incidents can happen anytime, at any place and with anyone.
Never stop believing.
Everyone gets a miracle; I wonder what's yours?
Tujhse Naraaz Nahi Zindagi is a landmine of lifeās wisdom. Despite being tapped into countless number of times, it still has more to offer. Its layered texture is without the overbearing appendages of pretence. No wonder it is wielded by the pen of Gulzar Saab, one of countryās most aware and prominent literary voices. In its own right this summons life to a center table. And then submits to it. Ensues an engaging conversation that Iāve never had the courage to move away from. For it has often felt a bit too personal when pain is made to sound like a due to be paid. In lieu of lifeās grand moments. But isnāt that true? Even without the poetic justice. Come to think of it, donāt we always carry the pain like a tagged baggage? How terribly independent though are our joys, squared up only by infrequent bouts of nostalgia. Barely anybody has spoken about adversity with such poignancy. Lifeās hard questions are not innocent whims but Gulzar Saab, a stellar wordsmith, romanticizes pain ...
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