The Accident

It was 5 in the morning when I woke up hearing the phone ringing. It was my aunt. She never wakes so early in the morning. I understood that there was some emergency. My mom grabbed the phone from the table after tying her hair up. It was not even 5 seconds when her droopy eyes opened wide with a strange look giving me a shock. She dropped the phone down with tears running down her cheeks. I ran to her, wiped her tears, and said, "Mom, please don't cry. Tell me what happened. I'm confused with your silence." She sat still on the bed. Only those tears on her cheeks were moving. 

I had no idea what my aunt told her over the call. I realized that something was serious. But as a little girl, I didn't know how to handle such situations. Last night, my aunt told me that she'll be visiting us today with my uncle and my cousin Maya. I thought mom cried because aunt canceled her plan. I was only six years old at that time. My maturity and my level of thinking were not so great. "Mom," I said, placing my palm on her cheeks, "Why are you sad? Why are you crying? Did aunt cancel her plan?" She grabbed me into her arms and started crying out loud. 

Dad and my sister Priya rushed into our room hearing mom's cry. "What's wrong, Asha?" Dad asked mom. Priya and I were putting all of our efforts to calm her down. "It's okay mom; stop crying. Tell us what happened. We are here to help you out," Priya caringly said. Mom was still speechless. She neither gave any clue. Dad picked up her phone that had fallen down and read out the message, "Mr.Suresh (my uncle) met with an accident and was admitted in the ICU with serious injuries." 

Dad pityingly looked at mom and said, "Don't worry, Asha. He'll be alright soon. Everything will be fine. "My brother," mom cried again. I too started crying along with her. Uncle was such a good person. He shows love and cares for everyone. He never crossed a beggar without helping. "Get ready everyone," Dad told us, understanding that mom badly wanted to see him now. But I feared about how mom is going to tolerate seeing him in this horrible situation. But none can oppose dad's decision. We started at our house at 6 in the morning. 

We were half the way to the hospital. I sat in the front seat next to dad. Priya and mom were seated back. I prayed to God that no bad thing should happen to my uncle. I had faith that the treatment would win. He is a positive person who's strong mentally and spiritually. He is an honest man who always stays loyal to all. Dad kept increasing the speed as we have to reach within the time otherwise we would not be able to see uncle. 

Dad was driving at the speed of 60km/hour. I was a little drowsy as I did not get enough sleep that day. I leaned back and slept. Dad woke me up and told me to wear the seatbelt as there were many hairpin bends on our way. I refused his advice and continued with my sleep. A heavily loaded truck came against us with full sail. Dad was not able to hold the break suddenly. Rather he turned the steering multiple times not knowing what to do. The car crashed a big tree. I dashed to the front and lost my consciousness too seeing dad faint. 

I didn't know what happened then. When I opened my eyes, my mind was totally blank. I was in a hospital I thought. A flashlight was glowing at the top of me. Suddenly, Uncle appeared in front of me. I was terrified. Then mom entered the room with a cup of coffee and said, "Good morning, sweetie."