Cycling in a dream

 

The incessant rain, over an hour had been continuously pouring down and I was witnessing it standing under a shade on my way back home from school as I was without the umbrella. While going out,especially to school my mother  always wanted me with the umbrella but I myself with a cycle only and nothing else. Then I was in class VIII and a consistent student in the class. And It didn’t matter how much rain it was I would never be absent in the class. Though the classes were not that important on that very rainy days still I had to be present there just only for getting a glance at the drawings, paintings and the necessary activities being carried out by others for the upcoming school foundation day.

I had a group of friends and being assured that on the next day we all would be present I left  school after the bell but was standing resignedly under the shade of a closed shop. My school was around nine kilometers away from my house and I considered it as an advantage for my passion of cycling and used to attend classes by this dear bearer. I loved riding cycle and in my spare time I would like to take care of it by wiping off and oiling it sometimes. My cycle must be fit and tidy and while cycling there should be no other sounds but a silent smooth hissing of bearings. I often fancied if the king ‘Rana Pratap of Meybar’ had been alive with his dear ‘Chaitak’ I would have made an open contest with them. Now doubt that would have been a suitable taste for my dear carrier friend as well.

At last the rain allowed me for riding cycle once again and I had to paddle fast as I was already late. It would take twenty minutes more to reach home. When I was on my way home for around fifteen minutes a sudden incident took place and I was completely unaware of the sudden incident to face. The road was about to curve to right just two minutes away from my house and I was getting hardly any vision at that moment. I was at an average cycling speed when a beautiful kitten happened to appear in front of my cycle and jump very close into the front wheel of it. Though I was successful to save its life by checking speed of the cycle save myself as I had no other option but to get slipped badly on the road and fell down being apart from it. I took a little time to get up as I was wounded but all of a sudden a bus at a good speed just came and disappeared from my sight through the curve, making me almost blind quite for a moment. I had already collected my cycle but was mentally hurt, not because of my being wounded rather it was my fallen carrier which was the sole cause of my repentance. Since I bought it I had never let it get damaged but today I couldn’t control it on time. 

Then I started moving towards my house which would take just two minutes more to reach. I just stepped seven or eight steps forward along the left side of the road only when I felt something unnatural the front wheel had all but run over. I stopped, leaned down forward and at last had to squat almost. I noticed the same bright kitten and so beautiful its color was that I could still, despite that gloomy surroundings, see it clearly. Dead it was! Its head had got crushed by any vile vehicle. It just came to my mind “Oh! was it that ominous bus which had disappeared just a few minutes ago?”. I was right. This was that bus that had run over that beautiful creature. I felt hurt once more and perhaps this time the most. Suddenly, It just came to my mind that I was a part of this cruel incident to happen. I kept considering myself acquiesced of its death. ”It has died just because of me, of my unawareness, of my fault...It is only because of the kitten’s sudden collision with my cycle that has led it to run in that direction the bus is coming from.” As if I could gradually begin to understand my role in its sudden omega. “Yes I am the culprit.” And it started to haunt me continuously  leaving me weaker mentally, losing control over nerves. Once again the rain had started and I noticed the blood stained with its flesh, mixing into the drops of rain, started draining across the road. As if the blood itself didn’t want to be the witness of this brutal sin for tomorrow and was in a hurry leaving behind its master’s frame alone. And really I too didn’t want to be the witness. I couldn’t stand there and made my way towards home.

The rain was ceaseless and I didn’t allow myself to go out in such a bad rainy weather. I rather felt myself comfortable with a story book but was unable to go through it due to an unknown fidget. At night while having dinner when I felt a loss of appetite my Mother asked me, “What happened to you? You are having nothing!”. I, just to give an excuse, told her “ the Sabji is not that much tasty today, so I can’t.” But the scenario was pointing out something different from my words as my given excuse didn’t match up with the performance on my dinner plate. There were two ‘Rotis’ left but the Sabji got vanished completely and One could, if try, see One’s reflected face on it such as my mother’s worried face was being reflected on my eyes from there. In this world One’s food capacity of the stomach is too bad to make One’s mother happy enough. All the mothers are always worried as well as unsatisfied with the quantities of the meals, and it doesn’t matter how much more, their sons can load into their elastic pear-shaped bag. The more a son eats the happier a mother becomes and the effect turns out opposite when the scenario is just the vice-versa. But nothing was to be done at that moment. I should have been more careful while giving the particular excuse to her. If I had been a little bit aware I would have said something different that would have certainly beared coherence with the pretense.

So after a long hectic day I was to take a rest. I said to my mind : “ Be calm ... nothing evil happened to you. Around the world, all the time ,much more pathetic incidents have been continuously happening and there is no one to look back at it. No one is to get depressed, No one sad, No one worried even for one of those happenings. Then why are you wasting so much of your emotions?” We are, to get a bit of relief, always eager to be compared with those who are greater in crimes than us to prove us less criminals.

Next day though I didn’t participate into any programme I reached school in time and enjoyed the day with my friends together. Finally when it came to its end and we bade each other ‘goodbye’ I also was on my way home. Suddenly I happened to watch a cat running across the road and seeing it  the memory of that dead kitten started to haunt me once again. After spending a joyful day with my dear friends I was about to forget that remorseful incident. In our memory all the bad experiences are stronger than our good ones and the former ones enter our mind without our permission even when we don’t want to remember them at all. So pondering upon them when I was proceeding towards my house the last rays of the Sun began to disappear and I was just going to reach the same curve where the heinous incident of the yesterday took place. All of a sudden a bus appeared playing its bright lights over my eyes and made me close them almost. I just tried to avoid the lights with one of my hands and then I felt an odd bump from the front wheel and losing control over the cycle fell down badly almost on the middle of the road. At once I lifted my head and saw one of the front wheels of the bus was just approaching nearer my head and I with my best effort tried to save myself but it was a vain attempt after all as it had already touched my head and feeling suffocated I tried screaming back and just happened to find myself being awaken in bed from a nightmare and perspiring continuously.