The Accident

Pranesh was whistling to himself as he rode home. He had just dropped his fiancée, Amala at the Ladies’ Hostel after seeing a movie. Their wedding was to take place the following month and both of them were quite excited about it. It was nearing 10.30 p.m., and the fog was hampering his vision. He had not wanted to go for the night show and had tried persuading Amala that they could go to the movie after his car arrived, but Amala wished to celebrate her birthday, to which Pranesh had to agree. 

His friend Aryan’s house was on the way and seeing all lights glowing in his house, Pranesh stopped his bike and went in to give him some wedding invitation cards for distribution among their friends’ circle.

In the meanwhile, Amala had reached her hostel and was surrounded by her hostel mates who had arranged for a party to celebrate her birthday as well as her wedding. They were half-way through it when Amala’s mobile rang. At first she did not hear it ring amidst the commotion, but when the ring persisted, she picked it up. Seeing that the call was from Pranesh, one of her friends snatched away the mobile from her and started talking, imitating Amala’s voice, but soon her face fell. “What? Are you sure? Which hospital? We are coming there right away”, she replied and with a crestfallen look, broke the news to Amala.

The Inspector had said that Pranesh’s bike had been hit by a speeding truck on the main intersection in the city. An ambulance passing by had immediately taken the injured to a nearby hospital, where the motor-cyclist had succumbed to a very serious head injury. The Inspector had got her phone number from the papers in the bike and had called asking her to come and identify the body.

Amala could not come to terms with this cruel act of fate. She broke down, sobbing, but her friends helped her to her feet and accompanied her to the morgue where the body was kept. Just about half an hour back, she had been laughing and planning about their wedding and honeymoon and everything froze now. She sent a message to his parents who were in Cochin. When they called back, she could not speak. One of her friends shared whatever information they had got saying that they were on the way to identify the body. She was told that Pranesh’s parents and brother would reach Coimbatore early in the morning to perform the religious rites.

There was a great deal of delay and confusion at the morgue. The security guard on duty had just left to have a cup of tea and had taken the keys with him. The morgue attendant was searching high and low for him as he had lined up two more bodies to be kept within. He was in a hurry to leave, as he had already worked three hours beyond his scheduled work time. There was no place to sit and Amala and her friends kept pacing up and down, waiting for the security guard’s return and hoping that the body was not Pranesh’s.

After about half an hour, the guard finally turned up. After taking custody of the two cadavers, he permitted Amala and her friends to see the body, but they now had to wait for the police constable who had accompanied them as they had to identify the body in his presence. It took a great deal of courage and mental strength for them to have a look at the body. The face had been smashed beyond recognition but Amala confirmed that it was indeed her fiancé. She recognised the pair of blue-grey denims that she had gifted him only a week back.

However, as the body could be handed over only to the next of kin, she left broken-hearted to grieve alone in the hostel. She tried calling Pranesh’s brother to give him the updates, but his mobile as well as those of his parents were “out of reach” as they may have probably boarded the plane. She posted a message to them saying that she was going back to her hometown now that the wedding could not take place.

Her friends had contacted her parents who arrived within an hour to take Amala home with them. When they arrived, Amala had already packed her belongings and was ready to check out of the hostel. Once home, they first gave her some space to mourn the irreparable loss. It was extremely difficult for Amala to accept that Pranesh was no more. They had been betrothed only for about six months, but she carried with her memories of a lifetime. Her parents too were shocked that their family astrologer who had matched their horoscopes, had not indicated any such calamity to strike them.

Amala could not forgive herself for insisting that they should go for a movie that night despite Pranesh having objected to it. “If only I had heeded to his request, he would be alive now”, was what she kept saying all the time. Amala’s parents too could not bear to see their only daughter’s sorrowful state. They decided to visit their son in the US hoping that the change of scene would help Amala come to terms with reality. All of them had valid visas and they were able to leave that very weekend. Amala’s parents had tried to contact Pranesh’s parents, but they did not respond to their calls. They came to know from a common friend, that they were very upset with the alliance and believed that Amala’s stars were responsible for their loss.

Once in the US, with all the family members doing their best, Amala started to change a bit. It was a fortnight since the accident and Amala had not checked her mobile all this while. She had switched it off as she wished to shut herself away from anything and everything. Her niece had seen the mobile in her bag and had kept it for charging. Amala saw it on her bedside table and picked it up mechanically. Once it was switched on, she could see hundreds of messages on WhatsApp, waiting to be read. As she casually glanced at it, she found that there were several messages from Pranesh!!

“How could it be?” she mused and hurriedly started reading each message. Pranesh had been frantically trying to get in touch with her. He recounted the happenings in detail and Amala could not believe what she was reading.

When Pranesh had dropped in at Aryan’s house, he came to know that Aryan’s mother had suffered a paralytic stroke and their family doctor who had visited them had prescribed some medicines which had to be procured urgently. Aryan had asked Pranesh for his bike to go to the Pharmacy as one of the tyres of his own bike was flat. He was to take a cab or auto when Pranesh had arrived. It was very unfortunate, though that he got hit fatally. Till such time that other relatives of Aryan arrived, Pranesh had to hold the fort especially since Aryan’s mother was ill. He had not wished to disturb Amala with this sad news late in the night and had not spoken to her then. In the meanwhile, Amala had concluded that it was Pranesh who had met with the accident. 

He left late that night from Aryan’s home to be surprised early in the morning when his parents and brother rang the bell. They had not expected Pranesh to open the door for them and they too were indeed pleasantly shocked. They all then got busy arranging for Aryan’s cremation and other rites.

At first, Pranesh’s parents were very annoyed with Amala who had declared that the body she saw in the morgue was that of Pranesh. “How did she identify you?” was their question. “This body did not have your engagement ring at all! Blue denims are very common and cannot be the reason for her to believe that it was you! What made her come to such a hasty conclusion?” they wailed.

Pranesh showed them that he was not wearing the ring as it was a tad small and had started hurting him. He tried consoling his parents that anyone would have concluded the same considering other things such as the bike and the venue of the accident and the like.

Aryan’s sudden demise was a rude shock and a very difficult one to accept. Pranesh met his relatives who had come hearing about his accident and realised that there was no one in their family who could take on the responsibility of tending to Aryan’s mother who was now paralysed. Those who were well off, were elderly and needed assistance themselves and those who were able-bodied, did not have enough room or resources in their homes. He spoke with his own parents and they readily agreed to take her with them to their native place near Cochin and arrange for Ayurvedic treatment which could offer her some relief. It was difficult to accept that the ever-smiling Aryan would not be with them anymore. The accident was so serious that even if he had survived, it would have been a challenge for him to stay alive. As they say, life is a journey to death and though the length of the journey may be long or short, the end is always unchanged. He felt very comfortable that his mother would now live with his own parents who would take very good care of her. That would be the least he could do for his dear friend. 

The last message from Pranesh asked her to divulge where she was as he wanted to marry her on the fixed date, which was just a fortnight away. Amala’s joy knew no bounds and she immediately showed all the messages to everyone at home. Amala’s parents were very happy that Pranesh had not changed his mind. They contacted him and apologised for the misunderstanding and told him that they would return to India in time for the wedding. They also wished to talk to his parents before that. In the meanwhile, his parents too had got over the initial resentment and seeing that Pranesh was truly interested in bringing Amala into their family fold, gave in and looked forward to a happy union of the two families.

When Pranesh and Amala went out the next time, they drove away happily in their new sedan.