Love at First Sight

She skidded for about twenty meters before smashing into the rear of a stationery truck.

Those twenty meters turned out to be the longest stretch I had ever negotiated in my life. 

The impact jolted me violently.

For a few seconds, my mind drew a blank.

I could think, see or hear nothing.

Then, everything returned with double the force.

It was as if the past got obliterated in one single stroke and the future ceased to exist.

I felt acute pain in my knees.

I reached for the doorknob and tuned it. It worked.

I pushed myself out into the open.

I felt as if I emerged out of a dark cave.

The deafening sound of passing traffic struck me like a lightning bolt.

A crowd was beginning to swell around us.

Someone placed his hand on my shoulder gently.

‘What happened brother?’

It was a good question.

With some effort, I maneuvered my way around her.

Her front was thrown open by the sheer force of the collision. She was disfigured beyond recognition. A dark green liquid oozed out of her guts and ran on the black road like an ugly serpent.

An old fellow with a golden tooth looked towards the heavens and remarked in an honest voice, ‘Thank God, you are safe. Things come and go but human life is priceless.’

I stared at the thing.

Six years back, I had fallen head over heels for her.

In fact, it was a classic case of love at first sight.

And I never recovered from its sweet taste.

Wherever we went, she was mobbed and admired.

Her complexion, strength and to be a bit impolite, her curves made many a hearts skip their beats.

She was simply gorgeous.

Every evening, when we returned from the office and reached home, I would touch her softly and whisper, ‘Tired? Don’t worry. I have nothing for you this weekend. Take rest.’

And she always smiled back at me, always.

In a city packed with high, concrete buildings and ambitious, worldly people, she was like an oasis of peace into whose cozy folds I could always hide and find comfort.

I travelled with her only up to the office and back.

For any other journey, big or small, I hired a cab.

I never bothered her unnecessarily.

Except for that one time.

 A metallic idol of Lord Ganesha was among many objects that were part of her accessories.

I always started my day by bowing in front of the elephant god.

Occasionally, she would go to the nearby workshop for bit of a tune up.

No one could ever guess her age.

She always looked young and dashing.

There were times she would get angry.

This generally happened when I somehow ignored her.

On all such occasions, she just won’t buzz.

However, a little pep talk and an apology here and a kiss there, and I always managed to win her back.

And then, she stood there, bleeding and in pain.

She had absorbed the dreadful shock and saved my life.

In the process, she died.

A thin film of tears appeared in my eyes.

Just a few hours back, we were cruising happily towards our destination.

And there I was, standing in the middle of a listless road, a complete stranger to my surroundings with nowhere to go - lonely, hungry and devastated.

After a while, a towing van arrived and we left for the nearest garage.

The insurance guy kept talking to me continuously over the phone.

He was sorry that this had taken place.

I gave him all the details.

It happened because it had to.                            

Some more formalities and paper work took place at the garage.

At the end of it, it was time for us to part.

I gazed at her one last time.

She smiled back at me, as always.

More than a month passed.

Those twenty meters before the collision haunted me day and night.

The surveyor had finished his inspection and declared her unserviceable.

She was to be sold as scrap.

But he promised me a good return.

I rolled back to the city.

People suggested that I should look for a new one.

But I had left my heart back in that garage.

I often dreamt of undertaking long trips with her on bright Sunday mornings - she as beautiful as ever and me as alive in her presence as I could be.

She was not my car.

She was my Baby.