Change in identtity

He realized that he and I shared a common mother tongue. Every time, he saw me he called out to me regardless of the distance that separated us with his loud voice asking for my health in our mother tongue. I, in an attempt to hide my embarrassment, responded back to him in a equally loud voice. The people around looked from side to side at the two of us in amusement. This continued for an year. During the course of the year, a few of his friends, who did not share our mother tongue, also started asking for my health in my mother tongue. As embarrassing as the situation was, it was also sweet and I quite liked the attention. So I let it be.

I did not see him during the two months of vacation. I greeted him from some distance on the day he returned from vacation but he did not respond. He looked through me and walked away. This happened two more times. I did not bother to find the reason for this change in attitude. One day, I found him sitting with his friend. The friend asked something and I responded. He looked up at me shocked and said "oh! It's you. I thought you had left during the vacation. You have shaved your beard and I am unable to identify you".

He does not greet me anymore. The loss of my beard seems to have changed something within him. To his young eyes, I am no longer the person I was.