True Friend

His name is Ben. He is very popular in our place because he is the only one who roams around the village with a dog in tow. I first saw him when I was a kid, way back in 1989. He is tall, thin and with white hair. I assume that he is now already 50 years old or more. Ben is so kind, the only difference is that his mindset is like that of a child's. Other people who do not understand his situation call him "crazy." I never heard that he hurt anyone. But the sad thing is, Ben was once hurt by drunk construction workers when Ben passed by in front of them. Just imagine, they beat Ben although he cannot fight back. They are the crazy ones, not Ben who is innocent about the world.

I am thinking how many dogs had been his companions as he wanders the whole day. It is hard to count because it was so many. There was a black dog, a brown dog, a spotted dog, and many other kind of dogs. Those dogs are like askal or stray dogs but for Ben, they are very special. I am sure of only one thing - the dogs stay longer in Ben's arms.

Other people sympathize with the dog because even when the weather is hot, Ben still takes the dog with him in his wanderings. Of course, it is only a dog that can never complain. In contrast, this is very good because the dog wants to go with Ben. How about them? They don't care about Ben's situation. The logic is, if the dog does not want to go with Ben, the dog will bite him to go away from him. But Ben and his friend also rest. Ben once gave a bread to the dog, which only means that he care and love his dog very much.

Hmm, what is inside the mind of Ben for his friend? Why did he choose to have a dog as companion rather than be close with people? Maybe because the dog cannot make a judgment, unlike people who judge you after seeing you only once. If you will give a bone to the dog he will be contented, unlike people who, even when you give all the things they want, at the end they will only bite you. A dog only fights back if you hurt it unless it becomes mad. How about people? Although you did not do any harm, they will badly hurt you.

It seems that I want to make friends with a dog. But there is no need for me to do that. For me, Ben is not only a vagabond who roams around with a dog - their relationship is that of true friendship. There is none other greater thing than being in the presence of friends, who serve as comforters in every moment of your life. I cannot judge Ben if he found friendship with his dogs. I only wish that may we find the good traits of Ben's friends in our friends.