There was a peculiar smell in the air. The sun had set way earlier than when it would’ve usually set. Maybe that was just an illusion caused by the dark clouds that were hovering in the sky. Maybe not.
I could see many people loitering around. They all looked very pale, lifeless and vaguely unfamiliar. These people are from some other neighbourhood, I thought, as I had never in my life seen these people. They all seemed to be going towards the other end of the road where the festivities usually take place. Thinking that there might be another one of those noisy marriages, I went back to the chair on which I had been sitting.
It felt like déjà vu. For some reason, I felt the urge to go and give a glance at the new visitors. I wore my jacket and started my way down the staircase of our apartment. The security staff, seeing me, rushed to open the gate and bowed respectfully. I gave him a smile.
The crowd that had gathered there did not look too happy. Most of them were silent; others, talking to themselves. It was only when I saw a bicycle nearby that I noticed that something was very different. There were no cars, autos or buses on the road. Nothing about any strike had been published in the newspaper (which I happened to read that particular day). Comforting myself with the thought that people were now more aware of the dire consequences that they may face in the future due to vehicular pollution and were wanting to be the change that they want to see, I thought that maybe they had decided to start walking more often.
I moved towards the gathering and when I came close enough, I found the reason for the unexpected arrival of our new guests. There was a young boy, probably 14 years old, who was lying on the ground surrounded by the other people. Oh ya…this must be Gopi Naidu I thought. I had seen his face in the obituary column of the newspaper. He had died of scarlet fever. Life really sucks, I thought. I gave a few words of respect and prayed for the rest of his soul and the well being of his family (something I wouldn’t do usually).
I started my way back to our house. From the other side of the road, I could hear some odd sound. I cupped my hands to my ears and listened carefully. There was a car approaching which did not have a proper silencer. It was heading towards where the people had gathered. As it closed in, I felt a sudden void in my stomach. One that you get when you are gripped with fear.
The car ran over the first eight people and then exploded. Thousands of pieces shattered all around. Bodies were scattered by the impact of the explosion. So many people….gone. It all happened so quickly that my mind couldn’t register it. I stared with dismay at the remains of the site.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
My eyes blinked as I tried to open them. The sunlight from the window was coming straight at my face. I got up and tried to recall the incident what had happened. The reminiscence sickened me. Who could have done such a monstrous thing, I wondered. I rose from the bed and looked out of the window. There was a huge stream of cars passing to and fro through the main road outside our house. How could that be………????
I took me time to realize that it was just a horrifying dream. I went into the bathroom and got fresh. When I came out, I saw my brother standing near the door with an open packet of biscuits in his hands. “Want some?”, he asked. I stared blankly at the biscuits. “You look like you think I’ve poisoned this!!”, he said. It was hard to for me to accept them…. But Nah!! I trust my brother :o . And those were bourbon biscuits!!
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