It took a long time for the bus to make its way through the countryside and into the city . By then it was the dark , and , in the city light , the stars twinkled dimly . They were overshadowed by the lights pouring out from every lamp in the streets and shop signs .
Raja had never seen artificial light . Even though it was night time he felt dazzled . Each neon light and shining bulb made him aware of his own poor appearance . His shirt had half its buttons . Dust clung to his skin , between his fingers , under his nails and on his clothes . His pants were full of holes and worn-out . His clothes gave little protection from the chilly December wind .
Worst of all , he had no money , so he bedded down in the street , with the stray dogs for company , and took whatever shelter he could find in the doorways . He soothed himself during these dark , scary , lonely nights by taking out his flute and whistling away the hours ; sometimes people would stop and listen . And on rare nights , someone may even toss him a coin in gratitude for the sad melodies . He would play old tunes his family used to enjoy , until ultimately someone would shout at him to knock off the noise .
He still had the food , which his mother had packed for him before he left for the city . When the food ran out , he scavenged food from rubbish bins , amazed by the bounty thrown away by people without a thought .
Many things surprised him in the city . So many people could fit into it and pass each other by , without ever speaking to or communicating with each other . Soon , he became homesick for his small village and family .
One fortunate morning , after sleeping in shop doorways for two months , he knocked on the door of a large residence . A gruff looking servant answered the door and scowled at the ragged boy standing in the doorway .
“ What do you want ?” He frowned .
“ Please , mister , I ’ m not begging . I ’ m looking for work . I came from a village two months ago to earn money for my family — our only buffalo died and-- ”
“ Enough ! I don ’ t need to hear your whole sob story ,” said the servant , whose name was Ahmed . However , Raja realized that underneath the gruff demeanor , this servant hid a kind heart .
“ Listen here . You are in luck . Our master just bought three new dogs and I don ’ t want to have to deal with cleaning their dog mess . You look like you ’ ve been around animals — I can give you work cleaning the kennels and caring for the animals in exchange for lodging in the servants ’ quarters and a few coins . In no position to haggle , Raja readily accepted the arrangement .
They called it a “ quarter ”, but in reality , it was a tiny piece of hell buried beneath the rest of the building . Raja didn ’ t care - he had no time to do anything other than sleep there anyway .
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