Siddhartha and I saw each other for the very first time when he stepped out of the car that brought him to meet me. As he and I walked towards the garden, he first noticed the tall black gate. He stopped and his eyes stared at the bottom and followed the bars all the way up to the top. "This gate reminds me of when I lived at the palace, and I always wondered what was beyond it.", Siddhartha said. When the guard let us into the garden, Siddhartha was speechless. I watched him as his eyes widened at everything he saw around him, strange plants, statues, rocks, tall bushes, short bushes in shapes of circles, triangles, squares and any other shape you could think of. I could tell what kind of emotions were going through him right now; because the first time I saw this place when I was 14 years old, I felt the same. It was over whelming because of how big it was, with many different white stoned paths like a maze, and he didn't know where to start because he wanted to see it all. I was hoping that he would say something, but he was too intrigued. I let him wander lead the way as I followed so we didn't lose each other. Which ever path we started with, it would end at the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh.
It was so quiet, that the only sound that we could hear was some birds and the crunch of white gravel beneath our feet as we headed down one of the paths. We passed by many beautiful plants, flowers, trees and bushes all which were all very unique. Siddhartha reached out to feel the petals of a deep red flower. "This is the best forest I have ever walked through!" he exclaimed. "This is actually a garden at Bahji for the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh. It is a holy land for the Baha'i faith. Many Baha'is come here to find peace, meditate and pray." I said. He nodded like he understood and then he started to wander outside the path to find a place to sit down. I followed him until he led me underneath a blossom tree where we both sat down. I could tell that he was thinking a lot because he wasn't very talkative. We both started meditating under the tree without a sound. I was glad we both did, because I never have the time or motivation to do so on my own.
The next place I wanted to take Siddhartha to, that I thought he would enjoy was Downtown Northampton, Massachusetts. With the free spirited people and many things to do there, I knew he would enjoy it. I drove us there with Bettie, my white 1982 Mercedes-Benz. I parked in the lot behind 58 Pleasant street at NECEE, where I went took a Nail Tech course over the summer. I gathered quarters, and filled the parking meter. Siddhartha looked really confused at everything around him. It was weird being with him, because our cultures are both so very different. It was a nice day outside, so there were plenty of people trying to make some change on the side walk outside stores. When we got to the intersection where everyone was waiting to cross, I looked at his dirty bare feet and I asked “Are your feet going to be okay like that? We’re going to be on our feet, and walking on pavement all day. A lot of other people here are barefoot too, but I think you might need shoes to enter a store.” I offered him my money to buy a pair of shoes and Siddhartha replied, “Thank you very much for your offer, but I got this!” The light flashed, beeped and signaled to walk and everyone went their own ways as we crossed diagonally. When we got on the sidewalk, Siddhartha picked a spot to sit down, and he then begged for money from passing people. Some people gave him rude remarks, some stared, some gave him food, but he was actually making money pretty fast. It must have been his dirty feet and cloth diaper looking thing he was wearing. He looked up and me and said “I’m like a professional, aren’t I!? I’ve done plenty of this back in India. I’m used to it!” I shrugged and replied, “How much did you make? Is that a 50 dollar bill!? Maybe I should start begging for money too!” and we both laughed.
