Finally, he was in today's dream destination. A place patronized for its beauty and high end lifestyle. What more could he asked for. Many would not mind leaving this life after a mere successful journey to this pearl of the Middle East. It was 1pm. Dubai was not as hot as expected .He was glad he had come along with his jacket. Now in the arrivals queue, he found his way to the waiting area. Everyone seemed to be everywhere. Of course he first paused for a selfie.
At the waiting area's extreme end. Richard paced restlessly around his seat. Droplets of sweat were now visible on his forehead in the City's cold breeze. " Whats going on?" He subtly wondered as he attempted to make another call. His host's phone was suddenly not reachable. They had planned to meet at the airport earlier on before he left from Uganda. Now, there he had it. Ghosted.
It felt like there was no one anywhere now. He didn't know a soul in this big city. He had now given up on calling his host. Three hours into it with no sign of success, he decided to scroll his Facebook mindlessly, hoping this man would perhaps call or reach him somehow. But in vain. Richard had gone through enough in his life to be worried about just this one single moment. Only problem was, he would have to start from pure scratch again.
Suddenly, he saw Musa active on his Facebook messenger. He knew Musa was in Dubai too. Playing for an Abu Dhabi football club. They had faced each other on the pitch a few times back in Sudan. They were only "hi" friends and never got close enough to know each other. But at this point, Richard needed him. It was him or no other. He put him on the call and surprisingly, Musa turned out to be a hospitable man. Richard didn't have to explain much.
"How much will the taxi cost me to reach you?" asked Richard.
"..may take like a 30 dirham"
"Alhamdulillah," he said as he exhaled in relief. He had just that 30 dirham on him.
At Musa's, he had continued to make calls to his host but without a single response. On the other hand, Musa was giving his only bed to this man he barely knew. He slept on the floor. He must have regretted not knowing Musa earlier in life. In the small dark room , they had a long talk about the life Dubai that lasted hours and his new host slept off. Richard stayed up most of the night in thought. He couldn't believe that a good friend hadn't lived up to his own word. He refused to welcome any ill suspicious of him yet. But he then realized he had always been on his own.
Growing up, Richard had had a solid teen stage, full of confidence and fulfillment. Earlier, he had had a fear of public speaking and little self esteem. Until he met his Biology teacher. This man was responsible for his turn around. In a high school that forbade mobile phones, Richard had at that moment got away with presenting his research using his smart phone. Not only did he get away with it, but he was equally praised for his creativity. Not by his classmates, but by the teacher himself. A man who never criticized his students' weaknesses but turned them into pivots for their own excellence. Now in a land that isn't of his own, his teacher's voice was still fresh in his head, "Dont make fun of anyone, we are all struggling for one thing. Success."
It was 6am now. His Alarm clock had rung off the hook. Success must have been knocking. He had managed to even oversleep afterall. Musa had invited him to train with his team under the Abu Dhabi league. His football skills were evident to the coaches and bosses of the club. Everyone seemed to notice him. Before he knew it, he had already been shortlisted on the team's first 11 of the next day's final match. What do you know? Abdallah, that had to host him was their opponent's goal keeper. They went on to win this tournament and Richard was actually "The man of the match" that day. This got him some exciting cash on the spot and he was able to contribute to his unplanned stay at Musa's. He was handed a cotton bag that he had been carelesly walking around with.
"Shunu ya ashaabiy?" Richard loudly responded from the showers to the nudging call from his friend.
"This bag of yours, its a phone in it"
"Wen yaa mu3arras?" He had known this guy to be a big joker and paid less attention to him. On opening the bag, a Samsung A03 was waiting for him to claim him. He couldn't believe his eyes.
It's another day and Abdallah finally reaches out apologetically.
"Bro, I was going through alot of stuff at the time."
"No worries bro. Its easy"
He even unsuccessfully tried to send some cash to him but it seems Richard could do without it now.
"You know, Richard. You can come and join our team. We have the richest boss in thus City."
"I am good where I am at brother. But I appreciate your concern."
"You know, that time it was tricky for me to host anyone but I hope that you understand brother, and you know these guys don't pay us on time an stuff like that. But I am sorry you had to go through that brother. I just had alot of stuff going that day."
"It's easy bro, dont worry. I get it"
Now that Richard was already shinning in a city that didnt know his at all three days back, everyone was suddenly his friend. But he had learnt his lesson the hard way and he was no longer ready to put up with games.
"It's very hard to understand a human being my friend. Only the Almighty, our creator knows what's in the hearts. So, when one day I choose my family over you, please dont blame me brother. Imagine, I was saved from the trenches by one I barely knew, yet the one who had planned my arrival only reached out three days later, I could've died or something bro. It's still puzzling yaa zol. Laakin Alhamdulillah" Richard spoke with a firm laugh from the other side of the short stool that stood between us.
"Perhaps we all need a ghost host," I finally thought.
Rich's tales.
Jabbar April 2024
Comments