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It was on the fifth floor of the Olfat Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan when I saw him for the first time. He called himself Steve, but I had the feeling that wasnТt his real name. His jeans were old and bleached out, not because he had bought them that way in a trendy European boutique with the ready-made Уworn-lookФ but because of constant wear on the Уhippie-trailФ. He had traveled with a friend named jack overland from Amsterdam on the magic Bus, a travel service that was cheap, but made no promises of safe arrival. Steve was evasive and withdrawn, and only dropped in occasionally during the first few weeks after we met. УWeФ were Sally, my wife, myself, and a few stalwart friends running a free clinic for Western drop-outs drifting across Central Asia in search of adventure, drugs and escape from Western societies they had come to loathe. Many had been pushed to the fringes of society by rejection and deep sense of alienation. Nothing in their surroundings provided a sense of identity or belonging. Steve was no exception. IТll never forget the time Steve asked me if I wanted to know the happiest day of his life. Little did I realize the shock awaiting me as I expressed my eagerness to know more about this young man who until that time had remained closed, and unwilling to talk about himself or engage in normal conversation. The locked-in pain and hostility seemed to explode in a torrent of anger: УIТll tell you the happiest day of my life,Ф said Steve with a strange smile on his face. УIt was my eleventh birthday and both my parents were killed in a car accident!Ф I could hardly believe what I was hearing as Steve rushed on. УThey told me every day of my life that they hated me and didnТt want me. My father resented me, and my mother continually reminded me that I was an accident. They didnТt plan on me coming along, and didnТt want me either. IТm glad theyТre dead!Ф To bleach Ц белить, отбеливать. Trendy Ц ультрамодный, стильный. Evasive Ц уклончивый, избегающий. To withdraw Ц уходить, отстрон¤тьс¤. ”рок 5 Ќа главную |