As The Day Comes To An Ends

He usually worked till sundown but today was one of his lucky days and he had got a lot of orders for deliveries in his pickup truck. The brand new pickup was his recent acquisition as he had stepped into a new career. Had lost his last job as the company where he worked in accounting, had closed down. He had worked there for almost three years. Three long years or short time depending on which way one sees it, of relative stability and a life of routine at the end of which, he was thrown into chaos once again. As he has been countless of times. Somehow he gathered himself and with help from family and friends and of course the bank, he bought this new pickup truck. Things had started looking better over time. He was getting a steady stream of assignments as days passed. Was able to manage his expenses after payment of instalments. Life is good, he had started to think. Especially today which had been a good day so far. A lot of delivery assignments since morning had fallen on his lap and by late afternoon he was almost thinking of ending the day. As that thought arose in his mind, he received a call about a pickup and delivery assignment. The location was far away, almost 80 kilometres away from town and he had to pick up some packages from there and deliver them back in the town. He would have to cross a hill pass on the way. The remuneration was good and he asked for a premium on his usual fare and the party agreed, as the delivery was important for them. Getting the extra money was important for him too. Though he was not exactly struggling for his basic needs, he had to crimp on comfort and luxuries. If he could get assignments like this almost everyday he can prepay his loans, he wishfully thought. He could buy a bicycle or soccer kit for his 8 year old son, finally replace the bed which was long overdue or he just could take a break and go on a holiday with his wife and son. Last few years had been taxing and he had hardly relaxed. In contrast, last few months had been good and he had begun to enjoy life a bit. Even started to sing and dance in the shower and make faces in front of the mirror as he combed his thinning hair. Had started to notice his beautiful wife once again, whom he felt, he had neglected in his struggle for survival.

It was almost evening when he started his journey. A dull sedate drive on a straight road which gradually started to become lonely. From few buildings, to standalone warehouses and gas pumps to almost nothing on either side of the road and most of the times, his was the only vehicle as far as he could see. Before he realised he had reached the foot of the hills. Almost suddenly, the road turned steep and he was winding his way along the hills. Weather had also started to change along with the increasing darkness and before he could realise clouds had gathered and started to pour down. With every passing moment they gathered strength, till the only sound he could hear was the loud pounding on the sheet metal of his pickup”s cabin. All he could now see ahead was a white sheet in the growing dark. There were intermittent flashes of light that would illuminate the hills and mountains beyond. Mountains felt like demons standing tall, especially with the rain, darkness and the lonely road. Had heard a lot of stories of demons in his childhood from his grandmother. They used to terrify him then but as it happens with everyone, he had outgrown the fear. Yet in his loneliness and hilly road they came back to him. Nodding his head, he shrugged to throw those thoughts out of his mind. He kept looking for a place where he could stop and take shelter, till the weather calmed down a bit. He could find none. The road was narrow with steep incline of hill starting immediately on one side and valley on the other. There was no place where he could park his vehicle safely and stop. His pickup just crawled forwards as safely as it could, while he watched for oncoming vehicles.

He was now seriously afraid and had started regretting his decision for taking up this assignment. By now he would have been home with his family and having dinner if he had declined it. Lost in his thoughts and amidst the rain and thunder he heard a crash. Looking up towards his right in the direction of the sound, he saw the mountain walking towards his pickup. Pushing stones and mud ahead with its every step. He tried to speed up and evade the demon, his heart raced, palms sweating in the cold, vision tunnelled towards the hazy road ahead. But the demon was fast and it caught up with him, swerving his pickup with brute force, crushing it under mud and stones and pushing it down towards the ravine. As the pickup tumbled down dragged along by the mountain demons feet, he lost sense of where he was. Something hit him, may be the roof or the window glass, something very hard and blunt. As he started losing consciousness he had a thought. Of all the things he could have thought about, he had just one thought. That this felt quaintly familiar, just like his life had been. Always following a winding and a steep path, to fall down deep somewhere, suffering a big loss and yet survive somehow, to start again anew. This time also it won’t be any different, he thought as his consciousness got enveloped in a rapidly increasing dark, till nothing remained, nor even the dark.

Next day when the rescuers found him in his mangled pickup, strapped to his seat, there was a hint of smile on his pale white face and his limbs had gone stiff, as they do when one is dead for a long time.

Epilogue : His family over time accepted the loss, attributing it to fate and gods will. God takes good people early, they convinced themselves. His friends spoke about his hard work, sincerity, integrity and dedication towards his family, at the funeral. In private, a few blamed his greediness for his untimely death, he could have declined the trip they said. The bank started the procedure to write off the loan. There was a small news about the accident in the newspapers next day, the cemetery added a new tombstone and a new entry was added into the register of death, at the town council.

©️ShashikantDudhgaonkar