After walking for a while, I saw many food hotels and restaurants ahead. I quickly walked into one of them. After washing my hands and face properly, I sat at a table and started looking at the menu.

Everything seemed expensive. A normal plate of rice and lentil porridge cost 80 taka, and two fried flatbreads cost 40 taka.

But I was very hungry. So I ordered four fried flatbreads with fried vegetable curry and a poached egg. Within a short time, the food arrived. Without wasting any time, I started eating quickly. I was so hungry that it felt like I could eat everything.

I had not eaten anything since yesterday afternoon, so I felt even more hungry. Eating fried vegetable curry with fried flatbread tasted good.

I noticed small pieces of meat mixed in the fried vegetable curry, which made it taste even better.

After eating quickly, I went to the washroom, washed my hands, and came back. As soon as I sat down, the waiter came with the bill. When I saw the bill, my head started spinning. Just for four items, my bill was 200 taka. The price of the fried vegetable curry was 100 taka per bowl. I don’t think I eat such expensive vegetables even at home. But I was hungry, I had eaten, so I had to pay.

After paying the bill, I came out of the restaurant and started thinking about what to do next. The time was 11:30. After thinking for a while, an idea came to my mind. I decided to go and see Chattogram city.

I started walking again, but after walking for some time, I felt the city was not that close. So I realized I had to ask someone. But whom should I ask? I didn’t know anyone here, and I am not good at talking to strangers. What should I do?

If my friends were with me, I wouldn’t have to think so much.

No, thinking like that would not help. I had to use my own intelligence. I decided to go to a small shop, buy something, and ask how to go to the city while paying.

I looked around and saw a shop at a distance. I went there quickly and saw that the shopkeeper was an elderly man. That felt better because elderly people usually answer kindly.

I went inside the shop but couldn’t decide what to buy. Then I remembered that I didn’t have any water. So I took a bottle of water and went to the counter.

I asked the uncle,
“How much is this?”

“30 taka,” he said.

Then I asked, “Uncle, how can I go to the city? I want to go to a shopping mall.”

He said, “Go straight from here and then turn left. You will see a bus station. Get on a bus and tell them you want to go to the city. They will drop you near the shopping mall. The bus station is about an eight-minute walk from here.”

“Thank you, uncle. You helped me a lot.”

“There is no need to thank me,” he said. “It is our duty to show the right way to someone who does not know the road.”

“Alright, thank you, uncle.”

I paid him and left the shop. While I was leaving, he said, “Come again.”

He was a very kind man. That is why it is easy to ask elderly shopkeepers for help.

I started walking quickly and reached the bus station. The uncle said that a bus comes every 20 minutes.

It took me six minutes to reach there, so I thought the bus would arrive soon.

After waiting only a few minutes, the bus arrived. I got on the bus and said I wanted to go to the shopping mall.

I paid 50 taka for the fare, sat down, and looked out of the window. The bus started moving.