Dialogue About a Morning Walk

One friend has started walking daily with his father and explains what changed.

A dialogue between Hasan and Jubair

Hasan: Jubair, I saw you at the park at half past five this morning. Have you started walking?

Jubair: Three weeks ago. My father was told to walk daily and did not want to go alone.

Hasan: Half past five is very early. How do you manage it?

Jubair: It was terrible for the first week. Now I wake before the alarm, which I would not have believed.

Hasan: And has it made a difference?

Jubair: A surprising one. I sleep better, and I am hungry at breakfast for the first time in years.

Hasan: Why the morning, though? Would an evening walk not do as well?

Jubair: The air is cleanest before the traffic starts, and there is nothing in the morning to cancel it. Evenings always fill up.

Hasan: That is true. My evening plans never survive.

Jubair: And the park is quiet then. You hear birds in the middle of Dhaka, which sounds absurd but is true.

Hasan: How long do you walk?

Jubair: Thirty-five minutes, briskly. My father does twenty and sits for the rest.

Hasan: Would you mind if I joined you?

Jubair: Come tomorrow. But be at the gate by twenty-five past five — we do not wait.