......... continued from the previous post
“Sorry sir, didn’t mean to offend you, take your ticket” and
a broad, tall figure appeared in the outlines of flash of an old torch light.
The conductor, as it appeared from his dressing sense, a man of 35, looked
nothing unusual than the way conductor generally looks. Always frustrated, in a
rush, annoyed as people are always complaining to start the bus, the quarrel at
the last seat, where he wants 6 people to sit but the other 5 always rebel and
abuses the conductor. But, there was something strange in his face. His dark
and defected face was of the kind that makes you uncomfortable just by the mere
sight of it. His low pitched and heavy voice was adding to the effects. I gave
him a 100rs note, he asked for change and I responded negatively. Frustrated by
this, he remarked slowly yet made sure that I would listen “Travelers always
assume we will give them all luxuries, good seats, a nice and timely ride but
they would never think about our misery. We can’t expect a little change from
them and they would expect a luxury ride in 40rs from us”.
I, annoyed by his sarcastic and acidic remark and disgusted
by his face told him that I will take the change later and he flashed his light
again and took me to a vacant seat. In the tiny luminosity of that small torch,
somehow fighting with a much larger opponent, the vast darkness, I got a view
of the whole bus. It was a very old and small bus, rusted, seats were tempered
and not in a very good condition, many parts of the bus were loose and coming
out and I was mentally preparing myself for a very noisy and uncomfortable
ride. I couldn’t yet figure out my fellow travelers but nobody appeared to me as
young, urban or even slightly belonging to a good financial class. All were men
and women, villagers most of them, peasants and farmers, some having little
child with them. All of them as the travelers usually look not washed or not
dressed properly and the faces of kids reflected some sort of gloominess and
never ending hunger and desperation. Whole together, it was a very gloomy and
bleak atmosphere in the bus, no one was chatting, the kids were silent too, not
by there will but by some untold rule that was forcing everyone to keep quiet
and maintain the powerful darkness and stillness.
Unlike the usual
atmosphere of bus, I am used to travelling, the up downers relaxing and talking
with each other, people talking loudly on mobile phones , as they can’t hear
what the other person was saying because of noise of the bus, but still they’ll
continue the conversation somehow ,screaming and disturbing the whole bus.
Students, either chattering or watching something on mobile or just playing
with it dumb faced. Alone travelers, either sleeping or lost in thoughts of
deep introspection and contemplation. The rich and affluent giving disgusting
face to every other person and reproaching their decision of taking a bus. Girls, mostly fully covered in their summer
suits or with some other cloth with only their eye visible and everything that
they were thinking can be read from those eyes. The timidity, a little fear,
slight discomfort and the urge to reach their destination as fast as they can
but realizing at the same time that they are bound to this bus to reach their
destination and they can’t help it.
But today everything was different; everything was lost in
silence and a sudden strangeness. Everything was peculiar and was having an air
of discomfort. The whole atmosphere was deprived of energy, of motion and most
of all of life. Everything was as still as death and I was analyzing everything
and cursing me to travel this late and making resolutions that I will always
catch the evening bus and somehow assuring myself that once the bus will start
everything will become normal with the motion and I will be at home in no time.
After some time, the bus started with a sudden jerk,
gradually it paced and the journey began. I can feel the sublime beauty of
night, with cold breeze touching my face like soothing me and assuring me that
everything will be all right. Suddenly, I was back to the appalling reality
from this reposeful dream when I realized that the reason of my calmness was
the source of my turbulence now. This complete silence in a bus, not even a
single sound, and no movement, as like everyone was even holding their breath just
to maintain this silence.
“Why the hell it is so quiet here” I thought not able to
comprehend this strange atmosphere in which I had willingly trapped myself.
The bus was moving very fast now, and every part of it was
making noises in a perfect harmony. But that harmony was not creating any
pleasant music, but sound of screaming, annoying and scary noises, which was
very sharp and unnerving. The seat was very uncomfortable as if there was no
foam at all, pure steel which was very cold and the posture in which I was
forced to sit was contributing to my discomfort, frustration and pain.
The conductor was nowhere to be seen. The bus was moving,
cutting the furious wind in a struggle of showing absolute resistance to the
power of wind and their collision can be heard clearly. It was noisier inside
than a pneumatic drill machine. Suddenly the conductor appeared out of the
darkness.
“Your change, sir” He said, in a tone of doing me a favour. I
also didn’t bother to say thank you and gave him a look which I was sure won’t
be visible to him due to darkness.
“The man with whom you came sir, were you familiar with
him”? The conductor enquired suddenly.
“No, I had taken lift from him to reach the station” I
replied, wondering why he is asking such an irrelevant question.
“Rumours say that a man died on a similar kind of bike in a
horrible accident few years back and now his spirit roams on empty roads
looking for preys” The conductor said in a tone which no matter how I tried to
take it as a joke but couldn’t deny its seriousness.
“Be careful sir, streets are not safe, particularly in
nights, I wonder if you remember his face or if there was a face at all” He
said in a manner of telling something indirectly which he himself feared to
tell clearly.
He disappeared again and there was the same screaming
bus, furious wind, and never ending darkness. I was now on the verge of
praying; god please move this bus fast or please insure that I will reach home
safely. The road was now illuminated by some lights, probably of some shops or
some strange houses but what was puzzling me was that there was not even a
single other vehicle. Though it was late but not that late that there won’t be
anyone travelling by road. I looked at the road more carefully and suddenly my
thoughts were transfixed, I can feel a single drop of thread running from my
head downwards and a strange sensation that made my whole body unstable and
shiver. It was not the same road which the bus usually takes, it was something
new, it was something hitherto I haven’t seen and suddenly various bad and
frightening thoughts originated in my mind of my possible doom.
They must have changed the route again, it’s been long since
they have done this but guess tonight is different or may be the bus travels by
a different route in night. I tried to calm myself and started to make some
plausible explanation for this sudden change of route that would convince my mind.
If I ever escape from this bus alive I would write an animated story on this, I
thought, adding some fun into my tensed thoughts that were running faster than
the bus itself and were making more noises in my head than the loose noisy parts of
the bus.
I guess everybody is either sleeping or their voice isn’t
audible in this annoying sound of the bus. The very feeling that I was seating
alone in the seat which gave me a very pleasant comfort in the beginning was making the situation worse no. Perhaps if someone was sitting here with me, I may have
talked to him and could convince myself that everything is normal. I tried to
look in the backside of the bus but I can still figure out some shadows and
peach black colour, nothing else. Where the hell that stupid conductor vanishes
time by time, I thought.
I thought to call someone at home to pick me up, as I don’t want to hire any auto now or taking a lift again was the last thing on my list. NO SIGNAL, my phone silently declared as if ashamed of its inability to serve its master when its help was required most. Damn this telecom companies, they will boast of signals everywhere, will allure us by giving senti ads “ wherever we go, we follow”, sends stupid messages of subscribing to know the updates of what is going in tina’s, mina’s or rina’s life or what happened when some miss riya joined gym or subscribing to all the dumbest and stupid things of life, will call you at night and will try to convince you of shifting from pre-paid to post-paid but when you need the network most, they will always betray you as that shameless friend who always cries for a party when you achieve something but never helps you when you are needy.
“ Curse them all, I hate this, when will this god-damn ride
stop” I said angrily but inaudibly or perhaps my voice was also overshadowed by
the screaming bus. I thought the best idea to escape is to put the hands free
on, start a loud song and close my mind and try to have a nap. It sounded weird
to me, trying to get a nap by listening to a loud song but that sounded the
best counter to loud noises of the bus. If not nap then at least the song will
derail me from this awful nervousness.
I picked some loud English songs, made a playlist, closed my
eyes and was lost in thought. For a long time I don’t know I was in a limbo,
the song, unclear lyrics, sound of bus everything got mixed up into my mind
when I finally woke up I was having no memories of my decision to take
a nap in the bus but suddenly in a flash of second everything came to me and I felt
the same dread again. I looked in my mobile and was more perplexed than
frightened when it showed 2:30 am. What the hell. I must be at home way early.
Did the bus stopped for something. Perhaps a tyre puncture or some engine
problem. There got to be a reason for this delay. ......... to be continue
Stay tuned for the last part, meanwhile do share your views and feedback !!
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