Dihan Hossain - That Pizza

 

When I first came to America, everything was interesting and anxious to me. And the most interesting part of me was pizza. Because in my country, where is belong is Bangladesh, pizza is not a regular thing like over there. We used to eat pizza occasionally, not every day. So, it is the second day of my school, and I was coming back home, and I see there's a pizza store nearby my house. A shopkeeper was taking out a pizza which looked really amazing. Chicken on the top, orange color, cheese melting. I was like, “Damn, I need to get that pizza. It looks so delicious. I have to have that.”

 

So, I went to the shopkeeper and I asked him, “Okay, how much is the pizza?” He said, “It's $5 with the soda.” I was like, “Oh, that's pretty cheap. That's nothing.” But like every immigrant, when they come from another country, they count the dollars in their own currency. I started counting my money, like the dollar in my currency is like, “Oh, $5 is equal to around 400 bucks in my country.” I'm like, “Ah, that's not as cheap as I thought. It's pretty expensive.” So, I went to my mom and I asked my mom, “Mom, can I have $5?” And she asked me in a weird reaction, “For what?” [audience laughter] And I said, “I want to eat a slice of pizza.” And she said, “Really? You think I'm going to give you $5 for a slice of pizza?” Because I know she was also thinking that $5 equals 400 bucks.

 

And she was like, “No, I'm not going to give it, because we just came here, we're struggling, I don't want to spend money too much on a slice of pizza.” And I was like, “I understand, Mom, but please, can I get it?” [audience laughter] But she said, “No,” right in my face. [audience laughter] I'm like, “Okay.” Now, I was so mad about to eat that pizza that I started saving money to get that pizza. It took me like 20 days to save $5. You know how it feels. All the immigrants know how it feels. And now, after 20 days, I have my $5 in my pocket. I feel like I'm the Bill Gates of the world, like the world's richest person. And then, I was so excited all the time in school. 

 

Now, the school is finished. I went back to the shop and I asked the shopkeeper, “Can I get that pizza?” Because there was no name, and I didn’t even care about the name. I just wanted that. So, he gave me the pizza. It was on my hand, and it was such an amazing feeling, “Damn, after 20 days, I’m going to have that fancy food that I’ve been waiting for a long time.” I felt scared. There was a place around my house, there was a park, so there were benches and I was like, “Damn, I'm going to eat my pizza peacefully come, because it’s almost evening time, there’s nobody.” I know that place. I'm going to go there. I know if I go home, I have to share with my sister, [audience laughter] which I don’t want to do.

 

So, I sat down, I was about to take out the pizza from my bag and I see there's a strange guy further back down, staring at me without any reason. I was like, “I didn’t do anything. Why is he staring at me like this?” I'm so pissed, because I waited 20 days to eat that pizza, and now it's in my hand and I can't even eat that. It’s so pissing for me. [audience laughter] And then, I was like, “Okay, let's ignore him.” I can’t even ignore him. It's like, he's staring at me weirdly. I waited, I thought he was going to go away. I’m thinking, fine, I’ll wait. It’s almost five minutes, but still, he’s not going. I’m like, “Huh?” [audience laughter] 

 

Suddenly, I see that he's coming towards me. I was like, “No, [audience laughter] no, please, please don't come to me.” But as usual, he cannot hear my inner voice. So, he came to me and he was like, “Excuse me, sir, you have any kind of food or something you could help me?” I can't even say no, because I have food in my hand and he can see it. [audience laughter] That's weird. I'm feeling so bad that why do you have to ask me that question with that kind of food. Because I'm that person who never likes to share their food, even with my siblings, never. If you even look at my food, I get really mad. I don't like it at all. 

 

Then, I was like, “Okay, it's fine.” But I look at his condition. He have ripped jacket, ripped shirt, ripped pants, and shoes with the soles are out. I'm like, “Okay. But I'm going to give you a half slice, not the whole thing, because I’m going to eat it, I waited for that long time.” And he was like, “Okay.” I tear the slice into half and give it to him, and he just ate the pizza so fast, like around 10, 15 seconds. I was looking at him, I’m like, “Damn, how?” [audience laughter] Because the other slice is still in my hand and it's still pretty warm, and how the heck did he eat that pizza so fast without even water or something? 

 

Then suddenly, I see tears coming out of his eyes. Sometimes that happens to me in the winter, when tears come out of your eyes. So, I thought it was like that. Then I asked him, “What happened? Are you sick or something?” He said, “No, I didn’t eat for more than two and a half days.” At that time, I don’t know how I felt, but I really felt a soft corner for him. I don’t know why he is like that or how he’s gotten into this condition, but I felt really bad for him. So, I felt bad and I gave him the other slice of my pizza. He felt a kind of peace. I know that if I go home, I'm going to have something to eat, not fancy like pizza, but at least I’m not going to starve. But he has no surety that he’s going to eat next time or not and when he’s going to eat. So, I gave him the other slice and we just talked for a little while. 

 

I look at my watch and it's time for me to go. He asked me that, “Can I get a slight hug?” I see him, dirty, but still, “Okay, that's fine. I'm going to give you a hug.” And that day, I realized that it doesn't take long to help others. A small act of humanity can make our world beautiful. Thank you.