A man is different from any living thing in this world. He can carry thousands of pains inside him, yet whenever you call him in your low moments, he will be there for you. A true man supports you no matter what you are going through.
Sometimes, before you called, maybe he was crying himself but still, he will understand you, crack a joke, and make you feel lighter. A real man never lets you see his pain.
I am writing this with cold hands and a broken feeling.
Recently, I joined a company in Chennai, India. Being from Rajasthan, it is very difficult for me to survive here because of the language barrier. Most of the time, I sit in my room, lost in thoughts about my personal life.
Last week, our team lead changed, and a new guy joined. I had seen him before during night shifts but never spoke to him because he led another team back then.
This new team lead is about 6 feet tall, with a bold beard and maybe around 28 years old. Everyone says he’s an alcoholic, but whenever he talks, he does it with a smile. On the first day itself, I thought he was a nice person funny, approachable, and someone who seemed to have everything going well in his life.
Today, we finally had a longer conversation. And honestly, it broke me.
While discussing week-offs, he casually mentioned how hard it is for him to survive the day in the morning shift. He said after work he has too much free time, so yesterday he went to a liquor shop, drank, did some household chores, and still felt bored. He laughed it off saying, “Chilled beers happened.”
I jokingly asked him, “Why do you drink daily? Someone left you?”
For a moment, he froze. A girl nearby gestured to me not to ask further. So, I changed the topic.
But later, the truth came out. Someone asked if he was married. I thought he wasn’t, but he showed us a picture of his 6-year-old son a cute little boy. Then he said softly, “My wife is not with me. She took my son away. It’s been a year since we separated. I rarely meet him.”
That moment broke me inside. Here was this cheerful guy, always joking around, yet carrying such heavy pain.
He told me he had a love marriage 7 years ago but last year they separated. He wants mutual custody of his son, just to spend time with him. He doesn’t mind if his wife remarries he just longs to be with his boy.
Then, with a heavy heart, he revealed more: because of all this, his family too got affected. His mother suffered a brain stroke and lost her memory. “She doesn’t even recognize me now,” he said with a dry throat. His sister takes care of her. His father too had passed away.
And so, this man lives alone in the same flat where he once lived with his wife.
When he spoke, I saw pain in his eyes a kind of pain words can’t carry.
At that moment, I realized the truth:
The funniest guy in the room was also the most broken. The one who made others laugh had no one to cry with.
"Sometimes the strongest men are the ones who cry alone but smile in front of everyone."
Do you agree?
Comments
Post a Comment