Die Another Day

His expression was that of a guilty schoolboy who'd been caught copying and he looked no older than one - this kid in the driver's seat of a Honda City.

I was later than usual leaving office and decided to take a rick home, too exhausted to wait for the bus. Despite the late hour, the road was still pulsing with traffic, no jams but flowing traffic, the orange-tinged glow of headlights accentuating the light drizzle.

We hit LBS and clearly luck was on our side, all the lights kept turning green as we approached. Rare occasion that. The rick had crossed Nirmal Nagar and was navigating the last stretch towards Johnson when the black car zoomed in out of the blue from a side lane cutting right into the rick's path, the kid driving the car was talking into the phone cradled in his right hand and was oblivious to the traffic flowing toward him. He turned to look to his right too late and braked right in the middle of the road. The rick driver muttered an oath and slammed his brakes, coming to a screeching halt, the rick nearly grazed the car. He was shaken badly and angry as hell. The cars behind us had also stopped and other drivers were coalescing on the spot, hurling abuses at the boy.

The rick driver was out in a flash, murder on his mind I am sure. The kid reacted quickly. He waved at us and took a quick U-turn disappearing into the inky blackness of the night before any of us could gather our wits, let alone think of jotting down the number. A bike rider muttered in disgust - It is the indulgence of rich parents which is responsible for spoilt brats like him.

As I sat at home nursing my decaf, for some strange reason, I kept wondering about the kid's parents. Did they know their son was misusing their trust. How much longer before his luck turned, how much longer before he either ran over somebody or got run over. And all this for the thrill of driving rashly and breaking a few rules, a bet with some friends maybe. Surely life is a lil more precious than that. And my mind went back to another mother - my aunt - who still waits for her kid to come back, knowing he never will. Another joyride which ended in disaster.