What is life and in the end, what do we wish for?

I don't know if anyone thinks about such things, but I do. I've asked this question myself many times before, and probably will ask again too, despite not being able to find an answer.

I sat in a corner of this seemingly old café, which my friend has suggested. Filled with the aroma of freshly crushed coffee beans, the café gave me a pleasant feeling. In a couple of minutes, my order, a smoking mocha was placed in front. At normal times, I would've lost myself in its rich taste, but today I'm not feeling so. The question inside me is not letting me be so.

My name is Mayank. I'm a writer. I shifted to Hyderabad recently, looking for an inspiration to write my next novel. Like all the metropolitan cities, Hyderabad is also filled with crowd and traffic, hustle and bustle. Yet something in this city attracted me to write about life.

The city introduced me many people, but of those, three people became closely connected to my daily life. Dhruv, a software employee, and my roommate. We go along parallel lines in our thoughts in most of the cases.

The second person is a panipuri seller, whose name I don't know, neither I bothered to ask ever before. He works as a clerk in the government post office for the day, and after the duty, he sells panipuri in the evening.

And the third one is an elderly man from our neighborhood, who always keep smiling, no matter what. It earned him a name 'the smiling buddha'.

I was waiting in the café for Dhruv. We planned for a movie. It was 5 30 PM, fifteen minutes past what we've scheduled, but he still didn't show up. That was enough for me to lost in my own thoughts. I looked around. It was crowded and noisy; I felt it a bit more lively though - a child serving in the café, a cobbler under an umbrella, a couple arguing on a seemingly trivial issue, a woman engrossed in her office project, an old man in turmoil, school children rounding the panipuri stall. Various colors of life were before me.

So many lives. So many stories.  'Do I get a common answer for all? What does everyone wish for in their lives?'

Long before, when I asked an elderly man about this, he simply replied that money is the most important thing.

He said, "Mayank, you know what, the greatest problem in this life is money. If you've money,  you can do anything. People say that money doesn't buy you health, but surely you've better chances of affording good health care than without money. It solely rules all our lives. Fact, it is". Surely, I disagreed with him on many aspects, but I didn't want to press on that topic.

"Hi Mayank", said Dhruv, bringing me back to this world from my thoughts.

"How's your day? You seem worried", I asked him.

"Oh man...This software job sucks! Today my boss bashed me severely for not being able to complete a project file in a week which was supposed to be done in a month. I hate this job", he replied, loosening his tie.

"I never wanted to become an engineer.I shouldn't have accepted this job in the first place. I surely make some money, but money is not everything, right? I don't have any bloody satisfaction. I regret that decision now". He seemed badly frustrated.

Dhruv's thoughts just stirred up more confusion to my bewildering question.

His phone buzzed suddenly. "Sorry buddy, the movie for later", he glibbed. Cursing his boss, he left from there immediately.

I too walked out of the café. All along the road, flower petals were roughly spread. When I asked the panipuri guy about that, he said "They just carried a dead body from here. It'll be taken to the burial ground behind your apartment probably".

"What!?", I said in a surprised tone. I was not aware that a burial ground exists near my apartment. After all, it was on the backside and I never happened to walk along that lane.

"Yes, don't you know? Moreover, by the time you reach, it'll be over".

Distracted by that, I asked him glibly, "What will be over?"

"Cremation".

A sense of awkward silence overtook me. Just before the dusk, I walked up onto the terrace with my elderly friend, the smiling Buddha,  to have a look at the scene. The place was eerily lonely; not a life stayed there except for a few bushes and a giant banyan tree in the middle. Between a few tombs and ashes, a pyre burnt to the sky all alone. It's the one.

"What does every human want in life?", I asked him.

"We all wish for the same".

"And what's that?", I asked puzzled.

He remained silent after that. I knew the reason behind that. I need to find it out myself.

***

On another day, while walking to home from a publisher's office, I noticed the panipuri stall in the afternoon. It was unusual for him to sell panipuris in the afternoons because of his job.

"Hello bhaiya, took a leave from the office today?" asked I.

He grinned and said, "The leave is forever. The post got filled".

I felt sorry for him. While I was about to say something, he continued, "Amma told me to accept what happens and not to worry".

"It's good to have such a supportive mother", I said, stuffing a puri in my mouth.

"Yes, it's good. But amma has TB. Final stage". That immediately made me regret saying those words.

He continued, "Doctors said that no matter what, we cannot save her. At least I want to keep her happy till she leaves the world".

I didn't know what to say. All the time he spoke, I didn't see a drop of tear in his eyes. It's great to be like that. He must have realized that his happiness is important for her happiness too.

***

Sun scorched that afternoon. The day already felt bad as my novel was rejected by a publisher. She refused to publish it plainly. Adding to that, my sandal got torn out after hitting a stone. On one side, I was engulfed in pain and on the other side, the road burnt my bare feet. Cursing my day, I went to the cobbler.

The cobbler was an old woman, probably in her seventies. She was ridiculously lean and also wrinkled, I wondered if she could repair shoes. Her hands shook every single time she stitched.

It was inspiring to see her work at that age.I offered her hundred rupees while leaving. She refused to accept the excess and took ten rupees only, her charge.

She added, "The daily earnings I get are enough for my livelihood. I've none too. I don't know if I will see tomorrow. What will I do with the excess?"

Unable to reply anything, I strided away.

At this point, I felt that I came close to the answer.

And again, I saw flowers on the road. Another dead body, I thought.
Later, I went to the terrace and stood. Most of the people left from there by then after the cremation. The flames burnt wildly.

Uncle stood beside me and we both beheld in silence.

Like a flash, the answer struck out to me suddenly. 'What every human wants is to live to be happy with what we have - like the cobbler. To live in peace no matter how hard the life goes on us - like the panipuri guy. To spread smiles no matter how painful your life becomes - like the uncle'.

Breaking the silence, I said, "Uncle, I found the answer".

"What's that Mayank?"

"To accept and be happy with what we have".

After a few seconds, the skull popped, letting out a loud cracking sound.

"Yet everyone has to go there in the end", he said smiling.