Episode: 1
I got my US visa in 2018. In the same year, I visited the US states of New York, New Jersey and Washington DC for 10 days. This trip was published in book form titled America Mere Aagay by Misaal Publishers Faisalabad.
My 2 classmates Faisal Ghafoor and Rizwan Mirza wanted to meet me in 2018 as well, but our engagements and then my short stay came in the way and I had to return to my country without meeting these two friends.
Since then, Faisal Ghafoor has been inviting me to America every six months, especially when I went on a trip to Europe in 2019 and then in 2022. Invited to come, but my personal, domestic and office commitments kept interfering and I could not do anything except apologizing
Every time when fate again wrote long journeys and dizziness in my feet took me on a trip to Europe, Faisal’s love returned again. This time he sent his elder brother Bashir Ghafoor to my office in Islamabad to convince me to travel to America as well as Europe. Basheer said that Faisal has reserved the entire portion in his house for me. Repeated insistence and then meeting a new relative were the reasons why I had to come to America after 2 weeks in Europe.
On the afternoon of May 8, 2023, the immigration officer at John Kennedy Airport, New York stamped my passport with a 6-month entry and also said that he wanted to come to Pakistan. I smiled and invited him to host. “Oh thank you”, and he handed me my passport.After leaving the lounge, Faisal Ghafoor was standing in front of the outdoor lounge. We met years later. One color of happiness was coming on his face and another was going away. Embraced eachother and got into his car and reached Jackson Heights, New York. It was like a Pakistani neighborhood where a large number of Indians and Bengalis also live. After eating mutton kadhahi, chicken tikka, tawa fish and chickpeas at the famous Dera restaurant here, we proceeded to Faisal’s house at 95 Springfield, Massachusetts. Remember that Faisal was also accompanied by his friend Sheikh Sahib. Otherwise, how could we both eat so much.My friends and relatives living in America and Canada are requesting to meet me.How many friends did I get to meet? How many places should I be registered? Only time will tell.