Two Brothers and a Farm

There are two brothers in my village whom I have seen since childhood and their farm is outside the village, near the main highway that connects the village to the city — and somehow every time we passed that road, they were always there, always sitting in the same place.

As a child, I never understood why they spent so much time there. I used to notice them every single time and stay curious but never asked. My curiosity was never really about why they were at the farm — of course they would be there, it's their land and their work. But what stayed in my mind was something else: why were they always sitting in the same place, in the same calm way, talking only to each other for hours?

How could two people spend so much time together every single day and still look peaceful?

This time when I came back to my village, the road connecting the highway to the village was very bad, so our car slowed down near their farm again — and there they were. What caught my attention this time was not just them but the place around them. There was a small wall made of big stones and on it they had placed round tree trunks like proper seats — seats they had made for themselves. Above them were mango trees and on the other side of the farm there was a river, and from the car window, the whole place looked strangely peaceful.

One evening I finally told my father: if we can, I want to stop the car — I want to talk to them. I got down and started walking toward them.

Before he could say anything, I smiled and said: I just wanted to take a picture of you both because every time I pass this road, you are always here sitting on these beautiful seats. They smiled, then they proudly told me they had made those seats themselves. And finally I asked the question I had in my mind: Why are you always here?

One of them looked around and said very simply: Our farm is here. We feel peace here under these mango trees and near nature. We don't really have friends in the village, so we spend time with each other. We are friends too. We talk, debate, laugh and enjoy our time here.

I clicked their photo and became quiet for a few seconds, because something about that moment hit me deeply.

Two brothers sitting beside a highway while the whole world keeps rushing somewhere — and yet somehow, they looked like the ones who had already arrived. We are busy running toward happiness, success or peace somewhere far away. These two brothers were already sitting inside it, under mango trees beside their farm, talking to each other like they already had enough.