Xavier Bivera- The Fallen Rockstar #A-ZChallenge2018

Xavier Bivera was the quintessential handsome macho guy in college. He was the heartthrob of almost every girl and those girls who actually didn’t feel anything for him also started liking him out of peer pressure. He was tall, lean, and looked like a Roman God. He was a year senior to me.

I used to often see him bunking classes and sitting in the college lobby, strumming his guitar and humming a tune. Cigarette loosely sticking to his lips in his typical style.  Later on, I came to know that the cigarettes were not ordinary ones but had other substances inside. Soon, Xavier along with few other boys launched their own rock band. Their songs became an instant hit among the young crowd. They started performing for various college fests. Xavier was not only the lead singer and guitarist but he also wrote the lyrics for the songs and composed the tunes.  With the success of his rock band, Xavier’s lifestyle became even wilder. He grew his hair and started tying a ponytail. He grew a beard, pierced ear, and eyebrow and got quite a few tattoos. He started wearing wristbands and a rudraksha necklace. His addiction increased and so did his womanizing. He started being neck deep in cocaine, marijuana and other substances. His ‘cool’ lifestyle made him even more attractive to girls. There were series of women in his life and rumors have it that quite a few had to undergo abortions for him.

After leaving college, I almost forgot about Xavier Bivera.  His rockband couldn’t cross beyond college fests and when younger groups started performing his band died a natural death. His bandmates also went away looking for greener pastures. By the time Xavier’s addiction had taken a toll on him. He got married but soon his wife left him. He had not completed his graduation, therefore, getting a job became difficult for him. His life turned into a vicious cycle of depression and addiction. He no longer looked handsome and turned into a miserable shadow of his past handsome image.

During our college reunion, we met Xavier almost after 10 years and honestly, we were not able to recognize him. The handsome hunk from our college days had turned into an old paunchy man who looked as if he had failed in his life. Xavier now lives alone and runs a small bookshop. His mother died of cancer and he was not able to give her proper treatment due to lack of money. His sidekick in college now works in Silicon Valley USA, most of his bandmates are now settled and living comfortable life whereas the hero is living in a small dingy house in North Kolkata and smoking bidi.

P.S: This story is based on not one individual but few individuals. These are few boys whom I encountered during my college days. I have seen them wasting their lives chasing drugs and women. 

 

 

 

 

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