The day it rained....

It was half past eleven in the night and I was still at office, debugging my code. I had to somehow finish it and forget about it for the next couple of days. The next two days were going to be totally special for me. I was on my way to Chennai the next day, to meet Yamuna in her residence. It was the official “Ponnu Parkarthu” (Girl seeing) function. My mind was already pre-occupied with it. I managed to get to the line which was causing problem in the simulation. I fixed it, re-ran my simulations. The results were positive. I shut my laptop, dumped it into my back-pack, picked my car keys and rushed to the parking lot.

It was pouring like hell. The monsoon was creating havoc. With one hand over my head and the other clinching my bag, I ran as fast as I could to my fully bathed Lancer. My car would have been really happy! She was in dust and I didn’t have time to clean her up. I reached the door, opened it, jumped into my seat and threw my back-pack to the back seat. I was half-drenched. I wiped my glasses with my handkerchief, switched on the A/C, picked a music CD and played it in full volume. The atmosphere was just electrifying – Rains, A/C and Yaakai Thiri from Aayithu Ezhuthu in full volume.

The road was completely deserted. I was literally zipping. The needle in the speedometer was toggling between 100-110 Km/hr. I had all the reason to be happy – the bug was fixed and I would be meeting Yamuna the coming day. I was almost close to Airport road. With that speed I would reach home in 15 minutes. I turned right on M.G Road and braked in full force. It was a Sumo.The guy got on my way from the main road. There was something wrong with the Sumo. The car maybe ran out of petrol or it had an engine failure. The guy was struggling and it had stopped right in the middle.

The sumo cab driver came out, and waved at me. I lowered the windows and switched on the light. “Sir, which side are you heading to?” “Indira Nagar,” I said. “Sir, could you please drop one person near Food World. I think the engine is out and I will not be able to drop. There are no autos on the road. Please sir”. With a bit of hesitation I said “Yes, I can”. A lady got down from the vehicle and reached my car. I opened the front door and she got in. “Sir, Thank you very much” said the cab driver. I was slightly apprehensive about the entire episode. The first thing was, I had never given a lift to any girl and that too at these wee hours of the night.

“I am Asha,” she introduced herself and I shook hands with her. “Hi, I am Ramani”. She was a fair, tall girl. She was wearing black trousers and a half white shirt. I accelerated and within two minutes I was intercepted by cops. It was once of those usual checks – drunken driving and license checks. “Where are you going” asked the cop. “To food world, on the first main road” He said “OK! Don’t go to the third main. A tree has fallen.” I turned to Asha and gave her a smile. Asha, meanwhile had made herself comfortable in the seat. She started asking me “So, you are a software engineer? Where do you stay?” blah blah blah…. The conversation went on. She was very curious to know things about me. She also disclosed a lot of her personal stuff. I wasn’t comfortable about this entire conversation. Thankfully, I had reached food world. I stopped my car. “Thanks a lot Ramani, thanks for dropping me. I loved my car ride. It was fun chatting with you. This is my business card. If you are free lets meet for dinner this weekend”. I said “Let’s see” and I had to give her my card too. As she was about to leave, she peeped into the car and said “I think I have started liking you”. She blushed and disappeared into one of the streets. I was totally frozen.

I reached home, slept for few hours. It was a new day totally. I packed my luggage, rushed to the airport and within an hour I was in Chennai airport. Appa was already waitingt. We got into the car and reached home in 45 minutes. I rushed to the bathroom to freshen up. I changed my clothes and was almost dressed like a “pudhu mapillai”. We reached Yamuna’s place and soon the entire place was bustling with activity. Yamuna came out to the drawing room and she was accompanied by her friend. I raised my head and to my horror, it was Asha standing next to Yamuna! Both of them sat in front of me in the couch. Asha was murmuring something into Yamuna’s ears. Yamuna’s face was turning slightly red. Was she talking about me? Maybe she was trying to build some wrong impression in the mind of Yamuna! Was she trying to stop this since she wanted me in her life? All these started running in my mind. I moved to the corner of the seat. I was already sweating. I didn’t know what to do. It wasn’t my mistake but still I would be targeted. If this function stopped, what would my parents think of me? How would I prove to people that I was innocent? “Oh god please help,” I thought.. Had I ruined my life by giving a lift?

Screeeech…….! I banged my head on the seat in front me. The bus had reached the Koyambedu Bus Stand. My wife was still asleep. The bus attendant started shouting “Koyambedu bus stand. Please get down”. I heaved a great sigh of relief. I would never ever give a lift, even in my dreams!!!!!!!