July 31st, 2007 - Chapter Three (RE-EDIT)

CHAPTER THREE

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

3:00 P.M.

So there we were, cruising the streets of Chennai in an auto with guilty-pleasure. We were least bothered about what had happened ever since our entry to Chennai. We were just talking about stuff we would do. I told Arun, " We should make others feel jealous of us. So we should take snaps where ever we go and post it on the web." Arun acknowledged and we start clicking right away inside the auto-rickshaw itself. I said "We are uploading it because there are too many of our friends who are in abroad who show-off by posting pics regularly in the web like 'I am in shopping mall','I am in front of this place', 'I am at that place' etc etc".
This was one of the pics (from Left: Mithin Raj,Arun and Me).

3:20 P.M.

We were nearing vadapalani and we were mocking ourselves about how we would turn out to be in the next 3-4 months. Things seemed all good for us. We were laughing at each other and I was dishing out the quarrels that took place in saravana stores earlier. I told "U guys should stop quarreling for the things especially for things like cricket bat, cloth hanger etc". Arun sarcastically gave a reply in his own style "This dog(mithin) doesnt know what to buy and what not to buy". They went at it all over again, as Mithin started pointing out about the necessity of a cricket bat at that moment and Arun started sayin some of his own. It was quite fun to watch them go at it.

3:30 P.M.

We were nearing our apartment. We were still having fun inside the auto. We never thought what was goin to happen in the next few overs. Suddenly, the auto driver tries to make an entry on the wrong side of the road. I asked "Why did u take the wrong side of the road, instead of goin a little ahead and make a U-turn??". He casually tells," Goin' that way will add another kilometre to your travel... this is a short cut". I said "No. But... isn't that supposed to be wrong(against the traffic rules)". Arun and Mithin refresh my head by saying that in Chennai these things are normal. Some voice in my head was warning me that this is not the way, seriously something was not right. I literally felt some changes in my body like an alert, a warning, an unclear picture. But it was broken by reality. So the auto makes the turn to the wrong side of the road. I didn't care.. We didn't care about the wrong turn. Just when we thought we were about to reach our apartment. Something happened. Something I thought would never happen, something which could not stopped.


3:45 P.M.

I noticed something comin pretty fast in our way.A Share auto was trying to overtake a motorbike from the left, I saw the whole scene but was very late to act or react to it.BANG!! There was a big collision between the two autos (Remember, I was sitting on the edge of the auto and my knee was pointing outwards of the auto). During the collision, the other auto struck my knee while trying to cut past the traffic. The auto would have almost tumbled side ways but it came back to the ground after a sec. Arun yelled "Is everyone okay?", I screamed in pain and tried to get out of the auto. When I got my left foot out of the auto, I heard a snap sound.. I knew something had broken. I lost my balance and fell down.

For the next few minutes. I could see nothing but the mute spectators watching me shouting in pain, few metres away from the scene. I was yelling in pain where as my friends were have a verbal fight between the auto drivers blaming it on them. For 30-45 seconds i was lying on the road, feeling the pain. Nobody bothered to come and help me. After a while, 4 people came and try to lift me by pulling my arms and legs. I heard another bone twitch, I had lost it. I knew my leg was gone, I would never be able to walk. Arun was trying his best to calm me down by saying "Nothing has happened to you. Its just a wound , that's all!!". I screamed in pain and yelled at him "Its a FRACTURE man, I am sure. Please do something. I can't stand this pain. Please do something."

3:50 P.M.

All I was hearing were voices of the verbal war between my friends and the auto drivers from outside and also there was a voice inside me. I hear Arun enquiring people about any hospital nearby. The voices inside me were shouting ...

"It is your fault, you prick. You shouldn't have gone in an auto with all those stuff"

"It is the mistake of the auto drivers"

"It is your friend's fault, they didn't listen to you"

"FUCK YOURSELF!! You shouldn't have come to Chennai"

"You shouldn't have gone to Saravanna stores, when u had your friend telling u that he will get the stuffs for u"

I couldn't take it. Voices were echoing in my head.

I was lying in a corner of the road lying battered, bruised and injured. I didn't know what was I going to do?? I didn't know what I was going to do...

(to be continued..)