Warning!

It was 8 pm. Sahil was waiting for the bus at the bus stand in his small town. By now, not many people were around. It was winter and the 8 pm bus to Raipur was the last that night. On other occasions, he would catch the bus earlier but tonight he got stuck with work and could not make it in time for the 6 pm bus. Somehow it seemed the bus was delayed tonight. He glanced at his watch. 10 minutes past already. He took a cigar out of his pocket and lighted it. Ah, it had been a while. He needed this puff.

"Excuse me!"

Sahil turned around to look.

A man covered in a shawl was standing at a fair distance. The area was not much illuminated. The roadside bulb seemed to have got fused. So he could not see the man's face clearly.

"Yes, were you saying something to me?"

"Yes, who else is here, apart from you?"

"Oh, tell me."

"Why are you smoking? That too in a public place? You are not only harming yourself but everyone around you. Don't do this."

This spoiled Sahil's mood completely.

"Well, right now, there is no one here. And if it inconveniences you, why don't you stand at a distance or sit there in that chair? That way you wouldn't have any impact!"

"I am not worried about myself. My life is over. But I had a son of your age and well, he used to argue with me, just like you."

"Oh! I am sorry to hear that."

"I hope you understand why I used the past tense?"

"Umm..", Sahil nodded in affirmation.

"He was an obedient son when he was young, but with time, he changed."

"Like what?"

"He got influenced by bad company, started doing drugs and smoking. I really felt ashamed to think of him as my son."

"Oh!"

"Yeah. I had a lot of dreams for him, but that idiot ruined everything."

"I see."

"When I see young people like you, I always make it a point to remind to stay healthy and not indulge in smoking, drinking, or drugs."

Sahil had already stopped smoking and now he instinctively dropped the half-burnt cigarette butt out of respect for the man standing in front of him.

"Thank you, Sahil. If my son was alive today, he would have been your age. Your bus will reach here in 5 minutes. Have a safe journey."

Saying this, the man suddenly started moving, and very soon he disappeared in the darkness. Sahil looked at his watch. 

Wow, almost 9 pm. And suddenly the road was illuminated by the ray of light, yes a bus was indeed coming.

As soon as the bus stopped he hopped on.

He knew the conductor well so he started chatting with him.

"What happened today Uday? Nearly an hour late! Thank God I had someone to talk to, at the bus stand, else I might have fallen asleep."

"Sorry, Sahil. There was a tyre puncture en route, had to get it fixed. It was difficult given that it's winter and the town nearly sleeps by now."

"Yeah, that's true."

"So who did you meet at the bus stand? Was there another passenger? At this time of the night, ours is the only bus that plies and I did not see anyone else there besides you!"

"I am not sure. I couldn't recognize him. Appeared quite old. He saw me smoke and objected. Then told about his son who had an addiction to smoking and drugs and blah blah. The strange thing is he probably knew me as he called me by my name, but I have no idea how."

Uday became silent for a few seconds as if lost in thought. Then he murmured,

"Then probably was him.."

"Him? Who?"

"Long story Sahil."

"Okay tell me in short."

"I have also heard about it, haven't verified myself. You must have heard about Professor Biswas? He was very popular with students!"

"Yes of course."

"His son expired last month suddenly. The guy had become addicted to smoking and off late even did drugs and alcohol. Prof. Biswas tried to bring him back to normalcy. He tried therapy and counseling. He even admitted his son to a rehabilitation center, but nothing worked. The poor chap ultimately developed lung cancer and died."

"Oh, I am sorry to hear that! So guess he was Prof. Biswas then."

Uday became silent again.

"After his son's untimely demise, the old professor nearly lost his mental equilibrium. He stopped teaching altogether and started roaming the streets. He would advise anyone and everyone to not smoke or indulge in any other form of addiction."

"Oh! That's so sad. I wish he had revealed his identity. I could have tried to help."

Uday smiled.

"You are a good guy, Sahil and probably he knew it too. But you would not have been able to help him."

"Why?"

"Last Sunday he was crossing the street near the bus stand where you stood. Probably he did not notice when the signal turned green. A speeding truck ran over him. The professor died on the spot."