So this one guy was different than all the others in his class. He had a strange passion. He liked to travel. Just
anywhere. It did not matter if it was a place he had visited twenty times before. If anybody asked him to go to
any place anytime, you can be sure he was willing to give company, be it 1'o clock in the dead of the night.
Rajesh had just started eating his tiffin in the evening when he got a call from a friend asking him if he was willing to
travel 350 kms to his village to attend to a medical emergency. Abhi's grand father was in his last breath and his
family had called for his presence at the time of his departure. Rajesh was ready in no time and was waiting alone outside his hostel as
Abhi arrived in his trusty old Hero Honda. So our guy got behind Abhi and began to speed away towards the
destination. He glanced at his watch. It was touching 9 in the night. Anyway, the mood was gloomy and the wind
chill. He tried to cheer up Abhi saying this was the way of life and everybody has to go one day. So, they better
think of the future and at least make up their mind and plan to give a decent farewell to the man who had done so much
for his community and was the binding force in his family.
A few hours had went by and the calls became frequent to Abhi's phone. As Abhi was driving, Rajesh attended the
calls on his behalf as they kept on riding. The voices were trembling as they asked for their current location and
pleaded to hurry up. Slowly the calls too faded. Rajesh began to fear for the worst but kept his thoughts to
himself as he did not know how to handle Abhi in case he broke down in the middle of the road in the dead of the
night. They had passed the highway and were on the rural roads without streetlights and without a creature in
sight. The foliage began to get denser and the mood heavier. No matter how much they worry, there was nothing they
could do. Leaving the outcome to god, they began to talk of other things. The only noise they heard were of insects and an occasional bark of a
dog.They must be travelling at 80 km/h and the only light was from the head light of the motorbike. It was then
that they saw her.
As they exited the corner, there she was, in the middle of the road. Carring a lantern with one hand and straight facing
them. She made no effort to move out of the way. Rajesh had involuntarily gripped the shoulders of Abhi and could
feel Abhi's muscles tighten as he pulled the brakes. As they darted towards the girl, Rajesh had shut his eyes and
prepared for the fall.
What happened was totally unexpected. His friends had pranked him. Rajesh was missing out in his studies due to
his useless trips and did not listen to his friends or family, no-matter how much they tried to persuade him to travel less. They decided to teach him a lesson. He could hear familiar shouts and opened his eyes to see
prankster Sanjay get out of the dress he had wrapped around himself. After this, it took less persuation and Rajesh
promised to stop wasting time doing pointless trips. Everybody spent the next day in the nearby popular picnic
spot and returned talking about the experience.
