Thursday, March 03, 2005

Absurd?

(Please phorgib. First time try)

---


The car moved up slowly on the twisting path. Sarita turned sideways to look at her husband. His hands gripped the steering wheel tight and his face wore a look of intense concentration.

'Relax, honey' she said with a languid smile. 'If you're feeling sleepy, we can stop for a while. There's hardly any traffic anyway'

'No, dear. The sooner we get to the top, the better. Now you're feeling better, what if you take a turn for the worse again?'

She smiled again and leaned to rest her head on his shoulder. Two years of ups and downs. Yet she knew she remembered the high points more than the low. He was what she had wanted all her life except for a thing or two that she hardly cared about. They hadnt
seemed like something to be bothered about ... Her attention got diverted to the bag lying at her feet. She pulled out the long rifle and fingered it carefully.

'What time can we go for the game honey? Can we start today morning?' Hunting was a passion common to the both of them. He was a trifle better than her though. But she had a keen eye and their first hunting trip during their honeymoon up north was a dream. He had finally found time from his busy work schedule and she had closed down her jewellery store for a fortnight.

'Hmm. We'll see when you're better. Let's not decide anything now'

'Mm. I love you so much dear, I'd give my last eyelash to save you' she said with a grin.

'And you have no idea how much I love you Sreet. We are one ... we were born together, we shall die together' he said in a mock serious tone.

She laughed. You could almost say that they had been born together. They had found out on their first date that both of them had been born the same day, the same year. Sarita did not
know the exact time of her birth though. She'd never given it any importance.

'Really Sarita' Amit said.

Sarita lifted her head to look at him. 'Haan?'

'I mean it'.

'What?? Are you all right honey?' His eyes were boring into hers. A Safari swerved past them at full speed. He just managed to turn the wheel to the left.

'Watch what you're doing! Is everything all right?' He didn't look like himself and Sarita was frantic.

'I mean what I said. If we were born on the same day, we will die on the same day'

She stared at his face. He didn't seem to be joking.

'Can we stop here? Let's just stop here for a while okay. Please?'

'Want me to prove it to you?'

Her eyes widened in fear. 'Prove what?'

'Please let me get down. Please Amit, let's just stop for a while.'

Though they were still going pretty fast, she put out her hand to the door lock.

'Sit still. You're not going anywhere. I'm going to prove it to you'. She turned to look at him.

The intensity of his stare was scaring the hell out of her. She realized she was too frightened to scream. His left hand was holding her in a vise-like grip.

They were at a portion of the hill where they could look at its surroundings. Everything was far, far below. A cloud or two hid the road that they had just come by on.

With a lurch of her stomach, she realized that they were going perpendicular to the road, heading off the hill. A split second too late. As she heard him say 'Never doubt my word' they careened off the hill and down they went, the trees, bushes, boulders turning cartwheels in the sky.

Aeons later she realized that the car had come to a stop. Amit was slumped on the wheel. His head was turned towards her. Blood was a fountain spurting out of a gash on his forehead. His face was turned towards her, glazed eyes reading her face. He blinked, it seemed like a mute appeal to save him. The menace in his eyes seemed to have gone.

She stretched out her hand towards him and pulled it back, giving an involuntary shudder.

Turning her back towards him, both physically and mentally, she reached for the door. She saw his arm stretch out through the corner of her eye ...

***

Far away by the top of the hill, wings loudly fluttered as flocks of birds took flight, at the sounds of the ringing echoes of a rifle shot.

12 comments:

Earthshine said...

How's this for an ending...
She thinks he's dead, and she loves him sooo much that she wants his wish to come true. She realizes she can't kill herself with a rifle, so she arranges his hand and the rifle in such a fashion that in about 15 seconds, his hand will drop from the wheel onto the trigger. Then she takes position. An hour later he wakes up and finds her dead, the rifle pointing away from him, and himself unable to move. He knows he is very much alive... and he knows that all he can do is continue to stay alive with her white face at his side.

....

Fulllllll irony no? *patting meself on back*

sudeep said...

yeh kya billy ? murder shurder ? :-D

Su said...

ah hah
another story... hmm how bout this for an ending
the car crashes and just as the petrol tank is abt to go up, the head priestess drags em out of the car, scolds them, praises herself for 90 mins and sends em to the RanigunJ institute of filling sense into ppl with no sense (or is it the other way round? whatever...)

Earthshine said...

>: Making fun aaaa. Donkey.

NimitZ said...

What ever the ending be, the morale of the story is that, "thou shalt never drive with a lady in front seat". :)

manuscrypts said...

hmmmph, women, i say!!

Argentyne said...

:P O sophist .. you know how much your ending was liked :P

:D Sudeep, how did you like it? :)

What was going on here Su?

Who making fun of whom?

:( manuscrypts and nits, did people misunderstand the story? Why is the woman responsible .. you dont know who killed whom!

mythalez said...

Actually no one killed anyone. umm..
the man got out and then both of them went hunting. But since there were tired, they couldnt shoot any bird.
hence no killings, though there were firings.
:P (should think of a worse ending)

Tipsy Topsy said...

good story! pls tell me SOMEBODY knows who killed whom?

hope to read more of ur tales....

manuscrypts said...

i thought it was upto the reader to choose... nyways, my comment applies to both scenarios... actually, even if she shot a bird... :)

sudeep said...

hmm.. it was really nice !! esp the parts towards the end :-)

PS: keep away from Chips.. bcome chips moster instead :-D

Argentyne said...

lol, cool ending doda. What a peaceful soul you are! :P

TT, dhangoo bhery much! :) That's the ending! You dont know who killed whom! :)

:O Manu, it was the man who was crazy here or are you talking about me in the sense of my making him crazy? :-? :-s
:D

Thank you Sudeep :) .. aur aapko milte hain donear suitings ki taraf se paanch hazaar ke gift hamper! :D