“Why not, Arun?”
“Hamid, I assure you that it’s impossible!”
“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you, Arun!”
“But, Hamid, it’s not the same thing. My blood doesn’t belong only to me.”
“I’m ready to give my blood for you.”
“I’m also ready to give my blood. And my life for you too, Hamid. But giving it and
mixing it are two different things.”
“There’s no difference when it comes to friendship.”
“Can’t you understand, Hamid? How can I do something that would exclude me from my
family’s hereditary duties?”
“You're quite mad, Arun, to worry about such things. I wanted us to make a pact of friendship because you are leaving. You don’t want to.
Who cares? Let’s forget it!”
The next day, Arun went away to college. Hamid stayed where he was. His father had just taken him on as an apprentice, and he couldn’t leave the shop.
“Father, Arun’s left.”
“I know.”
“Father, why are we poor? I hate being poor!”
“Allah makes some rich and others poor. He is above all.”
“I should have liked to go to college like Arun.”
“It’s not a good thing, Hamid, to be friends with people who are richer than you.”