Red.
Red.
Red.
Gosh, how long do I have to wait?
Ha! Amber now. Wait, do we even get to see Amber these days? At least, I haven’t, in all my 1652 kilometres of life. Anyway…
Green. Phew! It’s a Sunday, dear Signals! Why don’t you take a break from the monotony?
Here I go… Vroom!
I’m only halfway through the crossing when I see a grey speck through the corner of my headlight. In less than a second, the speck enlarges into a grey monster and approaches us ominously at an unimaginable speed.
God! Pick up speed or back off, Nivi!
Too many things happen in that one tiny fraction of a second.
Tiny? That reminds me of the toddler standing in the front! God save him!
Nivi, you need to hold him tight.
The monster looms over us at lightning speed…
The next thing I know is that I’m sprawled on the ground beside Nivi. Why does this silly fool even ride on it when he can’t even control his thundering monster?!
Is this called an accident? People say everything has a first time… But, I only wish it hasn’t been this painful… Aaahhh!
God, the kid… It must be the first time for him too…
Somebody help him!
***
It is one of those Sunday evenings with the March breeze wafting through the lanes of the School Road. The one which is usually busy on weekdays looks forlorn.
The grey Swift car, usually left undisturbed even during the weekends, is slowly taken out of the parking area of its apartment at a lane off the School Road. It looks too dusty to be handled.
“Ready for a drive, Rambo?” The owner addresses the car as he gets a makeover with a piece of cloth being wiped across his steel structure.
Rambo gives a transient blink from his headlight as an affirmative. It has indeed been more than a month since the last drive. He has been waiting for a breath of fresh air. As his owner tries switching the ignition on, Rambo struggles a little, coughs out a lot of smoke and finally smiles with a bright start.
“There you go, my boy,” cheers his owner, while Rambo happily revs up his engine.
He is driven through the small bylanes around the place before being taken out to the School Road. Moments later, he stops beside a grey Pulsar at a traffic signal. The rider appears very restless as he keeps accelerating menacingly. Even before the signal turns green, he speeds off.
Rambo coughs up again, in an effort to pick up pace. Before he even crosses a few metres beyond the green signal, a loud sound echoes through the road. The grey Pulsar is seen lying near the median, with its rider gathering it as quickly as possible to flee the scene.
Rambo peers more intently to find a bruised woman and a kid near the median on the road. A Scooty lies beside them. It also observes a mass of people collected near the lamp post on the opposite side.
Although old and worn out, it only took Rambo a few seconds to surmise that something has gone terribly wrong.
***
Ten minutes before:
I’m being led off from inside the apartment by Vijay and parked at the gate. The little one comes out with Nivi and jumps to the front.
Aha! I love this kid.
I do feel proud of myself to have been structured to have that little space between the front end and the seat. That comes very handy to make a place for kids and to hold the rider’s baggage too, unlike those heavy performance machines they call bikes. Duh!
“Let me ride,” Nivi suggests.
“Confident enough?” Vijay asks.
“Yes, I am.” She sounds brave enough to handle me, although I feel jittery.
It’s been so long since Nivi rode on me. It’s always been Vijay. She’s one scaredy cat, I say. But, today, she looks at me with all the love in the world (or so I believe, ahem!) and hops on the front holding my handlebars.
I try my best not to be shaky, exposing my nervousness, lest she backs off.
Let’s support woman riders! Stop bullying them, menfolk!
She switches on my ignition and whizzes off zooming through many lanes before stopping at a signal in a junction.
***
The Present:
Rambo rises to the situation. It has indeed upset him so much to see a child involved in the accident. He encourages his driver to step out and assist.
In moments, he sees his owner taking necessary action to help the family. Rambo notices a bearded man being instructed by him to take the woman and the child to the safety of their house. He is seen assisting the injured man to stand up and supporting him to walk towards Rambo for a seat.
This time, the four-wheeler revs up faster than ever in the direction of the man’s house.
After making a stop there for a few minutes, Rambo takes him and his family, along with another elderly man, to a nearby hospital for first aid and diagnosis.
***
A young bearded lad is riding me now. Nivi sits dazed at the pillion. The kid looks even worse, what with his blood-stained knickers. He drops us at our apartment as the grey Swift man takes Vijay, his father, Nivi, and the kid to the hospital.
I never expected the evening to end this way. Sigh!
The grey monster and his rider deserve a place in hell!!
While the other grey thing that I observed earlier in the evening goes down in my memory as the sweetest thing ever.
What a world it is! I conclude from this one accident today that it’s definitely not black and white. It only comprises a range of shades of grey, spread over a wide spectrum, even if they are the diametrical opposites of a perpetrator and a saviour.
~~~
Author’s note:-
Pulsar – a high-performance bike from the brand, Bajaj.
Swift – a four-wheeler from the brand, Maruti Suzuki.
PoVs used – First Person Central (Scooty Pep) and Third Person Limited (Rambo)
Image courtesy – kalhh from Pixabay
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