"Raju you drive too fast", she screamed.
"Renu you worry too much" he smiled.
As Raju moved on his bike from one end of the road to the other, pedestrians braced themselves aside.
Some of them even gave him dirty looks, but did it slow him down? No, not at all.
Finally, they reached college and as Renu got off the bike, she scolded him again.
"You never understand my point do you? Everyday a million accidents happen, in fact
only yesterday the newspaper reported death of a whole family".
"Relax Renu", he said, "why are you so scared of death? My family astrologer told me, I am going to live almost 80 years", he smiled.
As usual, Raju won the argument and they went to class. In the evening Renu left early while Raju had planned some time out with friends
Next morning, as Renu waited for Raju to pick her up, she wondered why he hadn't given her a miss call in the morning. It had become a habit with them since they had started going to college together. She knew him from school but it was in college when they really became good friends.
Looking at the watch she saw it was almost half an hour and no sign of Raju. He had always been so punctual. Finally she called on his cell phone.
"Hello", said a lady's voice from the other end.
"Hello Aunty, it’s me Renu, can I speak to Raju please?"
A sob sound followed...and the phone was snatched by someone else.
A man's voice asked ,"Who is it?"
Renu with a tension filled voice asked, "Its Renu, Raju's friend, can I speak to him please?"
"I think you don't know", said the man.
"Raju had an accident, he is in Noble hospital."
Renu felt as if someone had slapped her hard.
She stopped listening and started gasping for breath, holding on to the gate she kept herself on her feet and then slowly walked back her flat.
........
In the afternoon, Renu finally reached to Raju's room in the hospital.
He was in deep thought. His mother was slicing an apple for him and talking to him as well.
Seeing Renu, his face brightened, and he blurted out a "Hi".
"Hi", said Renu.
His mother smiled at Renu and said she will be back after getting
some more fruits for Raju then offered her the seat beside his bed.
As Renu sat down, and was about to speak,
Raju said, "You were always right Renu, you were always so right. …
Renu listened with a solemn expression.
“When I met with the accident last night, I could hear the echo of your words"
Renu looked at him with tears in her eyes as Raju continued,
"You were always so subtle in your advice and never directly told me
but now I know as now I will experience it. I just hope others around me would learn from my mistake."
As tears fell from Renu's eyes, she looked below Raju's waist. With both legs amputated, he had definitely become wiser but a life full of pain had still to be endured.
Definitely death is not as horrible nor is it as scary, but living life as a handicapped person
because of your own mistake is the most dreadful thing to be experienced.
