Albert In Nepal

 Let's create a story. Combining these three. Tenzi is our main character. No, I have no idea how to start, I mean I know how to start but cannot continue to the point of ending it. It’s just, that I can’t give any story a conclusion. Okay, how do I begin? Long ago. No…. at the foot of mountain Phango, there’s a small village with not more than 70 people. Many adventurous tourist go out of their path to visit the Pango village where they are treated with hospitality. It’s a village with little to no electricity and most days, they spend indoors or gather around a campfire. Food is scarce but they salvage and eat what they get their hands on.

Males go hunting and scavenging while females tend to their houses and keep them warm. Tourists who visit Pango know about this so they bring food to the village which villagers are happy to cook and share with each other. They only have a radio for electronic devices that runs on solar. One tourist was amazed to see such a village separated from the world so he brought a solar radio. Upon seeing the progress of the outside world and the phones and everything, 8-year-old Tenzi grew amazed and anxious to travel outside the Pango village and explore all the world had to offer. Peaceful tourists also had their sanctuary there. One tourist named Albert lived there for four years, teaching children about everything there is to learn. He taught children about foreign etiquette, the outside world economics, government, history, and technology.

 He was from the northern part of Europe. His backstory was filled with tragedy. He had an amazing life there too but not for long. He was a happily married man teaching high school and university about science and technology. His life flipped upside down when he got a call telling his wife and son they were no more due to a brutal accident between a hijacker and a bus driver. His son and wife were crossing the street when a bus speeding hit them. The bus driver was brutally engaged with the hijacker welding knife in his hand that he stabbed the bus driver with. The driver survived but his innocent wife and kid were no more. 

He was shattered by this news. Now his life was not the same anymore. Everywhere he went, he could visualize the memories of his son and wife playfully jumping and walking or sitting on the bench. The same old place was full of memories of his long-lost wife. His son who was 9 years old didn’t get to see his bright future. It was unbearable for him to see his wife and son in every corner of the street calling his name. And one day, He decided to leave all this and go somewhere far.  He was still the same old guy when he arrived in Nepal but he now no longer sees the familiarity of places that haunted him for months after the tragedy. 

After arriving in Nepal, he saw the bustling street and was afraid to cross the road. He sees most people drinking tea, smoking, and going about their lives. He noticed people eating with their hands and felt unhygienic. He wanted somewhere that closely resembled the cafe of his hometown. Then he suddenly remembers his loss and is instantly sad and surprised too. All these 11 months, the thought of his lost wife and son had never left his sight, but upon setting foot in this new and unfamiliar place, he was free from these thoughts, at least for a moment. 

He then decided to try something daring, to eat with his hands which he never did,  except for chips and popcorn or burgers. Those were handheld food, but eating sizzling hot food straight out of one hand was a freakishly new idea for him. It was dinner time so most people were having the staple food, Dal, Bhat tarkari in a Khande thaal. So he also ordered one. The cashier looked with confusion and mentioned that they have other types of food such as puri, naan, samosa, and of course MOMO. He smiled and said no thanks to the cashier and that he was good with what they were having because he wanted to try something new. With a shrug like it was not his business to question one's decision and said okay. He brought him Dal Bhat Tarkari with aachar; he also brought him papad, a large thin wafer, and meat in a small separate bowl. Welcome to Nepal, he said and went away. The vegetables were peas, and potatoes with cauliflower. The cooked rice was still steaming hot, and the aachar, or so-called pickle was made of radish and green chillies. He then started eating food with his bare hand. It was hot at first and he felt his fingers burning. He kept blowing his fingers and bit by bit, his fingers adjusted to the heat of the food. 

As he was savoring the hot food, he noticed people looking at him with amazement. I mean he was a foreigner and this was maybe new for them, Heck, it was a new thing for him also. Then he sees the cashier looking at him with a smile. He smiled back. The cashier came near and told him something that made him a little embarrassed and also nervous.  Brother, you don’t eat with your left hand, you eat with your right hand. Oh I'm sorry I'm new to this, said Albert. That’s okay brother, it was my fault to not guiding you. You can wash your hands at the basin and start again. I will bring you a fresh one. Coming to a new place and learning new things was embarrassing but also sensational. He never thought of eating hot food straight out of his hand. 

And then suddenly, a jolt of ideas hit him. Like a eureka moment. He decided to make new memories and forget the old ones. The old one was a husk of dead he wanted to cherish but it was too much of a burden to bear. He couldn’t do anything except move on and for that, he had to bury the old memories with new ones. Just like this new experience he had at the restaurant, he decided to live life head-on and experience every range of emotions from now on. 

If you have made it to the end of the chapter, Thank you for reading. Most likely I would leave it for a month or even years. So It would be my pleasure to get ideas and even continued stories of Albert and how he ends up in Pango village. I will be grateful to hear your side of the story of Albert in Nepal.