By Akhlaq Ahmad Afridi
This is a true story. Once, a man from our area, driven by poverty, went to the capital of Afghanistan, Kabul, in search of a job. At that time, it was common for people to travel to Afghanistan in search of employment or livelihood, perhaps because those areas were nearby. After reaching Kabul, the man went to a specific spot where laborers gathered and sat in a line the next day, hoping that someone would come and hire him for some work.
A few moments later, three men arrived and took him with them for some labor work. They traveled through a difficult path and reached a mountainous area. Upon arrival, the man started his work as instructed by the others. While working, he noticed that the behavior of those men wasn’t right, but due to his helplessness, he completed his task with full honesty.
After completing the work, when the man asked for his payment, the men mocked him and, threatening him, drove him away. The poor man, in a state of extreme distress, left the place. It was evening, and in the mountainous area, he had no knowledge of the way back, nor did he know anyone there. After walking for a while, he met an old man. He narrated his entire ordeal to the old man, who then offered him to stay at his place for the night, saying that it was getting dark. Since the man had no other option, he agreed and went with the old man to his house. The next morning, the old man showed him the right way and bid him farewell, and finally, he reached Kabul again. Upon reaching there, he decided to return home, but he was so helpless that he didn’t even have money for the fare. So, out of extreme necessity, he went back to the place where laborers gathered, hoping to earn some money over a few days to arrange for his journey home.
After a while, an old woman came and told all the laborers that she needed someone to clean her house’s bathroom. All the laborers remained silent, but since the man had no other option, he agreed to go with the old woman. He worked at her house for a week. During that time, he performed his duties with great honesty and took care of the old woman. After a week, the man decided to return home and asked the woman for his payment. Along with paying him for his work, the woman also gave him a beautiful stone and said, “My husband gave this to me as a wedding gift, but he is no longer in this world, and I have also grown old, so you keep this with you; it might come in handy.”
Since the man was in a hurry to go home, he took the money from the woman, bid her farewell, and set off for home. When he reached home, he placed the stone in a cupboard in his room. The man was extremely poor, and it was difficult for him to make ends meet. After some time, his eyes fell on the beautiful stone, and he thought to himself, “Why not show it to someone in the market? Maybe someone will buy it.” He took the stone to the market and showed it to a shopkeeper. The shopkeeper offered him fifty thousand rupees for it. The man was surprised and thought to himself, “Why not show it to a few more shopkeepers?” After speaking with two or three shopkeepers, one of them offered him a million rupees.
Hearing the offer, the man couldn’t believe it. Finally, one shopkeeper advised him that a precious stone exhibition was going to be held at Pearl Continental (PC) Hotel in Peshawar in a few days, where people from abroad would also participate. So, he suggested that the man participate in the exhibition and perhaps sell the stone for a higher price there. The man followed the advice, borrowed some money, and went to the exhibition. When the show started, he set up a small stall and placed the stone there, waiting. The entire day passed, but no one approached him. The man sat there worried, watching the people. Finally, an old man, who seemed to be from America, came to his stall with his wife and examined the stone closely. He picked up the stone and took out a small device from his bag to inspect it. After inspecting it, he said something in English to his interpreter, who was standing beside him. The interpreter asked the man about the price of the stone. Since the man himself didn’t know the value of the stone, he responded by saying, “Its price is fifty lakhs.” When the interpreter told the American man the price, he said something again in English. The interpreter then informed the man that the American was willing to pay thirty lakhs instead of fifty. When the man heard this, he immediately agreed. The American handed him a bag full of notes and bought the stone.
When the man opened the bag, he found dollars inside. He was so simple that he didn’t know anything about dollars, so he took out one note from the bag and showed it to someone. Only then did he learn about dollars, and he was overjoyed when he realized that the American had given him not thirty lakh rupees but thirty lakh dollars. He took the bag and went straight home, and his happiness knew no bounds. After that, he lived his life happily ever after.
This is what is called becoming rich overnight.
Mr. Monologue 
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