FICTION: Befriending a barber

A hesitant friendship deepens over tea and small talk, eventually pushing Pun Dai to a life defined by risk and quiet rebellion.

The barber was almost about to fall asleep, but the rattling sound outside alerted him. As mandated by the rule, his shop was closed for the day, and because he wasn’t a Nepali citizen, he had no slightest bit of interest in the election. Again, someone rattled the shutter. Who could it be? Irritably, he got up from his bed, walked through the small door into the hall where he had set up his haircut business.