By Nitusmita Saikia
Contributing Author for Spark Igniting Minds
“Pari…….. I am scared.” Tightening her grip on Pari’s shoulder, Seema shouted.
“Don’t worry Seema darling, l will take care of you.” Pari replied
“No no no… Pari, please ride slowly. We have enough time. And this road is very congested and narrow; see how these people are driving.”
“If you drive below this speed, other vehicles will throw you out of the road. And this road is not narrow actually but because of those garbage dumps, you see?
“Now please concentrate on your driving. No talking okay …! Because they don’t care if you die.” Seema put on her helmet.
“I know, but I can’t stay calm if I see these people ….who think that they have all the liberty to break rules, because of their money …..”
As Pari kept talking to Seema, one long car passed by them in speed. Pari’s scooter could not hold the force and so she slowed down. A few meters ahead, a kid from that car threw a cold drink bottle and empty packets of chips from the window.
Pari moved her head side to side to hint to Seema her frustration.
“Yes, ” Seema replied to Pari.
Before Pari could say anything, suddenly one such chips packet flew back and got stuck to Pari’s helmet’s faceguard. Pari lost her balance because of the obstruction of her vision and both the girls were about to fall down but,- Pari somehow managed to stop her scooter before any accident could take place.
Pari waited for a while on the side of the road. Seema gave her a concerned look with shrinking eyes. Both saw each other’s faces quietly and then began their ride again. Did you see that?
“Seema,? How was their code of conduct on the road? That was a silent remark from a rich person, that they can do anything. All these road safety talks, rules are meaningless. Now nobody comes to punish such people.”
Seema replied to Pari, “These days, people don’t use their minds. If they did, they wouldn’t have thrown their litter on the road but instead used a dustbin properly. And …”
“And you also see, what are they teaching their kids? Throw your soft drink bottle and chips packet from a car window?” Pari raged ….!
“Pari, the wind is blowing from the opposite side, be careful. It’s very dusty.
”Seema alerted Pari about the sudden gust of wind.
“I am wearing a helmet dear, no worries. You put on your helmet please.”
“ok..ok, I have already”
“Good” After driving for a few minutes, they reached the railway crossing, where a train was crossing. Suddenly Seema spoke out…, “Hey, Pari, I think something serious has happened on the other side. There is a big crowd, I can see through the gap between the moving train bogies.”
“Must be an accident…!” Pari replied.
When they crossed and reached the other side, they came to know that an accident had taken place there. Pari and Seema tried to see the victim and asked the witness standing there. They both were shocked to find the cause of the accident. Because of the wind a paper plate from a roadside garbage had flown and got plastered on the glass in front of the driver. The driver couldn’t see anything for a sec and because of the speed the car hit a tree by the roadside. “Pari, you saw the car?” “Yeah, the big long car….. we….!
(Featured Image by Please Don't sell My Artwork AS IS from Pixabay)
About the Author
Nitusmita Saika is by profession an instructor in National Cadet Corps, She writes both in English and Assamese. She has been writing poetry for e-magazines like FM online magazine for couple of years.
Her poems have been published in various anthologies under www.realisticpoetry.com and much more.
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