CHAPTER 4. QUEST FOR MORNING DEW

In the morning I was treated with same delicious breakfast. As soon as I had my breakfast, Rahim Daad entered the room with Ram Daas; they were all ready to go out. I looked at Rahim Daad and he understood what I wanted to know.

“Hurry up; she is outside waiting for us” Rahim Daad said smilingly and walked out the door.

I followed Rahim Daad out into the street and found her standing next to the jeep. She was dressed in all white; her shades, baseball cap and short hair suited her even more. I kept staring at her until I reached the vehicle; I thought she would hesitate to look at me but she stared equally back. We exchange greetings as well as warm smiles and hopped in the jeep. Rahim Daad passed by us with a faint smile and occupied his seat in the back, while Ram Daas was all so ignorant of what was happening, he sat face to face with Rahim Daad.

At first, Ram Daas guided us to various places where he had already searched for water reservoirs over the past few years. Most of these places had dried out; he couldn’t locate any further signs of water at those places.

“As time goes by, these reservoirs become scarcer” Ram Daas told us, “but we will find some reservoir sufficient enough for a village.”

“We are looking for more than one reservoir Ram Daas, keep that in mind, its not just for one village, its for the whole region” I said walking alongside Ram Daas.

I believe Ram Daas wanted to hear this, something that would benefit the region and not just some; he nodded excitedly with a broad smile appearing on his face.

We kept on moving from place to place until it was noon; Rahim Daad noticed Eeman and I were wearing off so he halted the expedition for the time being and told me to drive towards south west, where we could eat as well as take some rest at one of his nephews’ house.

Rahim Daad’s nephew, Fazal Daad was a sober man in his late thirties who welcomed us to his home and allocated a spare hut for us four. By this time I had figured that Rahim Daad was a man of a great reputation and honor who enjoyed a great deal of respect amongst the people he knew. We were lucky to have found him without having to look for him.

After lunch, Rahim Daad went out to spend some time with Fazal Daad’s family while Ram Daas, who was the most tired of us all, went to take a good nap. While I opened my bag, took out my satellite cell phone and dialed a number of the country head of one of the world’s largest petroleum companies. Salman Durrani was one of my clients; I helped him in making his way out from a team member to a team leader. Today he earned more than a million rupees a month; and owed me a favor. After a few seconds he picked up the phone.

“Salman it’s me, Rafeel” I expected him to have forgotten me over the years.

“Rafeel, its you! I am so glad to hear your voice. Where have you been? I had looked all over the place for you; I needed you with this new…” He certainly hadn’t forgotten me, but at that moment I needed him more than he needed me so I had to cut his speech.

“Look, we can talk about this later, but right now you have to give me a favor.”

“Anything, anything man, just name it” he said while his excitement still alive.

“I need a couple of wells dug and built in Thar, and I want you to convince your company to do it for these people” I said in a firm voice.

He went silent for a while; he didn’t expect me to talk about something at such large scale. I let him think over it for a while and didn’t say any further.

“What’s the whole idea? Can you give me any details?” he finally spoke.

“There are people here who are drinking polluted water and I want your company to drill some water wells here. As much as I know, for a petroleum company that shouldn’t be a problem” I said while my tone still remained firm and serious.

“Ok, sure. I will talk to these people back in the US. But this will take time.”

“No Salman, time is one thing I don’t have. Do it now; I want them to be here in a month.”

“A month? Rafeel, it takes time even to move the equipment to a place that far away. Its at least four hundred kilometers from here. Give me some time, let me talk to those people and I will get back to you, on this same number” he spoke slowly but firmly.

“I understand. Just let me know when you’ve talked to them and if necessary get them to talk to me, I will convince them” I also told him that once I was done with this project, I will help him with his problem.

Once I had finished the call, Eeman looked at me and said, “Who were you talking to?”

“You were listening to my conversation?” I said in a mock angered voice.

“Come on. Tell me, this sounded exciting” she asked with the eagerness of a nine year old.

“I have this client who is some big shot at a giant petroleum company. These companies drill oil wells and then guard it with a steel sheet from inside protecting the well from collapsing. If they can drill oil wells and keep them intact, they should dig water wells as well. So he is going to talk to his bosses about it” I tried to explain the whole idea to her.

“Wow, this is great. And all this time I was wondering how we were going to actually dig a well. So are they going to do it?” she was extremely excited all of a sudden.

“I don’t know; he is going to talk to them” I said.

“What if they say no?” her excitement was replaced by a slight worry.

“Then I will talk to them” I said confidently, smiling at her.

“Ahan” she smiled sarcastically back, “and who are you?”

“Just a man who is fighting for clean water. Good enough a reason for them to listen to me, don’t you think?” I said staring into her eyes.

“Yeah, that’s fair enough. Actually I will talk to them as well” her excitement came back.

I smiled and put my cell phone back into my bag.

“So why is this guy helping you?” she asked after remaining silent for a few moments.

“He owes me a favor” I said with an expressionless tone.

“Owes you? What are you? A don or something?” she asked laughing.

“No, I am just a man who is fighting for clean water.”

She didn’t buy it of course as I could see her curiosity unfolding in her eyes. She stood up, came over and sat on the charpoy next to mine; she put her face between her hands, placed her elbows on her knees and stared at me, “I never asked you this before but … who are you?”

I laughed out in a low pitch so that Ram Daas wouldn’t wake up and then looked at her, “Do you really want to know?”

“Yes” she skidded forward a little.

“Well…” I paused for a while and then said, “I am just a man who is fighting …”

“Oh shut up” she picked up the pillow on her right and threw it at me, “tell me seriously. What do you do, for a living, or for fun?”

I caught the pillow at my face, placed it on my left and told her seriously, “Well, until two days back, I was writing a book. And before that I worked as an image consultant.”

“Image consultant?” for a moment it didn’t register in her mind, “Rafeel. You are Rafeel, the image consultant?” she almost cried with excitement.

“Yes” I said not knowing what excited her that much.

“You are The Rafeel, The Best Image Consultant in the country?” she was looking at me as if all of a sudden I had taken off my mask and shown her my real face.

“Yes, that’s what they used to call me” I said trying to remain humble.

“Oh my God, I can’t believe it. I mean, all this time, I had been with Rafeel, The Rafeel. I can’t believe it. I have heard so much about you, you were great, you are great I mean. It was so difficult to get an appointment with you” she kept on talking with same excitement.

“Ah, well, I wouldn’t say that” I tried to defend my extreme fame and even more extreme unavailability.

“Yes it was. My dad once tried to have an appointment with you. After two month, he got one for ten weeks later; but just before that you had left the city and no one knew where you went.”

“I am sorry about your dad’s appointment but I was just tired; I needed some time for myself” I tried to explain.

“I still can’t believe it that all this time I was with you; the one who could not be tracked down by anyone.” She really was quite flattering at that time.

She kept on mumbling; praising me most of the times and telling me of anecdotes she had heard about my disappearance. All this time, I just kept smiling at her. And then all of a sudden, she jumped off the charpoy and stood right in front of me, “Ok, now that you are here and seemingly available, I need an appointment with you, right now?”

“Now?” I was bewildered.

“Yes. I am here, you are here, and as far as I can see, you don’t have any other appointment at this time” she said with such a convincing smile that I agreed.

“You don’t have to keep standing during this, you can have a seat” I said with a hint of tease.

She smiled and sat down again. Even though it had been a long time, I told myself that I hadn’t lost my touch. I asked her questions and answered her queries. I didn’t think she needed any changes in the way she looked or the way she carried herself, but I did suggested some equally impressive alternatives; colors, dresses, fragrances and even the brands she used for her shades. She just sat there and listened to me, all attentive. For those few moments, I felt as if I really wanted to start that part of my life all over again. I finally had started enjoying the profession I had given up.

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