On God's Behalf

It was Priya’s last semester of college. Scattered notebooks, messy datasheets, sketch-pens, files; her room had been littered for a week now.

With two days to go for her project submission, last-minute work had now become both her habit and her signature style.

It was five in the evening when her friends called, ‘We have a batch party tonight and you are not even in your hostel room’, they echoed simultaneously on the phone. ‘I have a submission, the day after tomorrow while you guys still have four days to go’, Priya retorted. ‘Oh, come on, you have an entire day tomorrow for completion. We have managed a car today and can pick you up right away’.

The offer was tempting enough and Priya was unable to resist.

 

Her friends reached her home in no time. And just while she was loading her paraphernalia into the car proudly sponsored by her college group, her parents returned from work. Not that they were surprised to see anyone, but her mother asked, ‘You have your submission, are you done with your work?’

 

‘Almost Ma. I will manage’, she replied with her voice coated in teenage over-confidence.

 ‘You should at least leave the Computer at home’, her mother responded.

 ‘If I take the PC, I can stay back at the hostel and complete my work’, she replied reasonably.

 

‘You don’t need the completed paperwork, do you?’ both parents reverberated simultaneously.

 ‘It’s ok to take it papa’, Priya retorted.

 

Her friends listened silently and boringly to the entire conversation while their eyes alternated between them and their respective watches.

 

‘Please drive safely’, were the last words, as her parents walked inside the house mumbling some prayers within themselves, for her safety.

 

There she was! Loud music in the car speeding on the highway, spiced with jokes and laughter. As the vehicle turned into the lane leading to the college, the high-spirits teenagers looked outside. The college was on the outskirts of the town and the campus was surrounded by the thicket and sparse population.

Suddenly from nowhere, a two-wheeler careened ahead of them callously changing lanes from the left to the right. To avoid hitting him, her friend turned around the steering wheel, only to be faced by a massive tree. In order to avoid collision with the tree, he pirouetted the steering in the opposite direction immediately. Scrrreeeeccccchhhhhhhh…..!!! The car lost its balance and overturned.

The excited boisterousness was suddenly engulfed in eerie silence and smoke all around. Priya was choked as she gathered herself to call out to her friends. Each one dragged the other, outside the vehicle covered with smoke. They just hoped that the car did not blow up. Thankfully, it did not!

They tried to collect themselves and come to terms with what had just happened to them, within a fraction of a second. It was dark already and all the friends sneaked past the woods away from the accident-site while neighboring village-folk started gathering to have their taste of adventure, analysis, and advice

.

As Priya waited by the cloistered highway, she saw her friends returning from the epicentre. They informed that her computer was already shattered into pieces, her mobile phone was missing and her project-papers were in tatters. Priya was too numb already, to react.

All of them however decided to take charge of the situation. They distributed the task amongst themselves. While some went to take the car to the nearest available garage, one of them came along with Priya, Khushi and Kriti in an autorickshaw to drop them back to their homes. He obviously returned back from the respective gates itself, to join the others on their way to the hospital. Though not critically, but most of them were injured.

As Priya stepped inside her house, she wondered to herself, ‘How is it that I escaped without even a scratch?’ Her answers greeted her with a smile.

‘Oh, you decided to come back?’ her parents queried. Priya fabricated a story to spare her parents the anxiety and spare herself of the reprimand. From the computer being safe at Kriti’s place to them returning safely, Priya shrewdly concocted all. She knew that she would certainly be caught later especially given the condition of her computer. Her friends would certainly find some resolution to that as well, consoled her immature self-confidence. Her inner self immediately echoed an instant realization, that this was very difficult to be done.

As Priya lay down on her bed watching the rotating fan and recollecting the incident, she honestly thanked God for rescuing her, absolutely safe from what could have turned out to be an absolute dreadful mishappening. What was it that had worked out for her? Maybe, her parents had spoken for her well-being, that evening, when they had advised her to not go for the party. They had even asked her not to take her computer and project papers! While she had defied their suggestions with unwarranted explanations, they had spoken with their strongest concerns.

Maybe it was their wisdom or maybe their ‘sixth sense’ had cautioned them of a mishap. Maybe they spoke on God’s behalf! Maybe sometimes, all parents do and listening to them makes sense! Maybe, it was because of their prayers then, that she had managed to escape unhurt. Maybe that’s why sometimes; all reasons fail and providence rules!