A Journey through the time

Chapter Thirteen - Back in Lahore and the Soft Admonishment

Next day, the train left for Lahore, almost twenty hours later the Khyber Mail arrived in Lahore around 7 PM. Qaiser, a fellow passenger asked me how much money I had left and I told him I had Five Rupees in my wallet approximately $1.12, he asked me to give him the money as he had no money left and he needed to take a rickshaw home as having fought with his family before leaving for Iran, he did not expect to be received at the station. I told him, if my brother Iftikhar is at the station to receive me then he can have the money otherwise we may have to share a ride. As the train entered the station I caught a glimpse of Iftikhar Bhai on the platform and happily gave Qaiser my last Rs 5 in my pocket. For some reason this gave me an enormous joy as helping a stressed fellow passenger seemed like a great thing to do. Almost a week later, I met Qaiser in Lahore and he offered to pay the money back, but I told him it was a gift and he should keep it. Apparently, his family had forgiven him for whatever the dispute was and he was glad to be back home. Hence, I arrived back in Lahore ten days after leaving Stuttgart with no money left, but happy to be back home just over two and a half months after I had taken the train with Bilal to Quetta.

When we reached home, I was surprised to see Imtiaz there, because I thought he may still be on his way to Europe. Apparently, he and his two friends made it to Tehran, but could not hack it anymore, so they turned back to Lahore. A couple of days after my return, my father called me to his room, admonished me in the mildest terms for setting off on such an arduous journey without informing the family, but I could see the pride in his face. He then asked me to narrate my experience from beginning to the end, which I did with a great deal of excitement and much to his joy.