It happened quite a long time back. I was returning home from the market. There was a scarcity of vehicles plying on the road, so i decided to walk. The light was dim and the whole scene was set amidst a misty winter evening. It was getting darker and chillier with each passing moment. I, not being in my proper winter attire was really feeling the chill. The lanes wore a soggy and dingy look due to absence of light. The street lights were ill maintained as ever and they provided no additional aid to the visibility. I had to carefully make my way through these narrow lanes watching my steps carefully lest they fell on a muddy area.
On my way back to home, there comes a turn where there are two paths. The road is bifurcated like that of the tongue of a snake. Both the roads have their own specialities. While one of them is shorter the other is significantly longer. As everybody else i used to take the shorter route. It was narrower than the other but was broad enough for someone like me.
That day something other than the usual happened. I cannot explain what occurred to me and by the time i was trying to figure out what had happened, i had already walked a couple of steps into the longer road. I was lazy to turn back and go around the other way. I continued walking lazily as i was in no such hurry to reach my home. I reached home some time later. My mother was running out of her house towards the way of the shorter road. I still remember the worried look on her face. It was usual for her to worry a little bit more than else but that day it was something else. It was as if she had just seen a ghost or something. She wore a horrified look and was more than just relieved to see me back home.
I screamed to call her. She turned, looked at me out of amazement and came running to me.
When i came nearer to her she gave me a tight hug, panting as she held me tight.
“oh ,i was so worried. I thought...”,the words wont come out.”which way did you come,huh..?”
“sorry i took the longer way around the colony,but what is wrong..?,i am just about ten minutes late or so..”,I said.
”what mama, what..,what did you think?” I was getting curious. I knew that something was not right. Something that had given my mother shivers down the spines. She went inside the house and there an unexpected silence all around. I made my way to the kitchen and insisted. This time i was adamant.
Finally she said,” some people have died. Some electricity wire has fallen down right on the road and the street was water logged and they got electrocuted........”.A felt a sudden chill on my palms. I was having goosebumps. Suddenly i realised that i had taken the longer road or i would been electrocuted as they were. The actual picture was complete by the next morning. All the people present during the moment in the lane, were electrocuted. It had rained unexpectedly and heavily the afternoon and the whole lane was water-logged. I was really feeling lucky to have escaped the jaws of death.
Many seasons have passed since the incident and it has been forgotten by all. A memorial had been built somewhere near that unlucky lane, the roads renovated and wires renewed. Street lights light up the lane during the evening. The face of the city has changed. But what still remains is the turn where the road still gets divided. It is as if the two roads at the turn, wait for people to make their choices.
It was the juncture in my life that completely changed my way of getting on with life. But the event still remains fresh in my life. I have had many events in my life where i have escaped unharmed or unscathed, but what is the point. It is all about the decisions that we take in our life. We all are given our own chances..fair, and unbiased. It is all about how do we take the chances and make our own choices.
But the point is that, what stopped me from taking the shorter route. The lure was there but i did not go for it. I think it was my instinct that saved my life. I took my chances and made the right choice. What do you think?
