FACING YOUR FEAR
"1 kg rice and 1 kg jaggery."
"Which rice - brown or white? Broken or whole? Processed or not? And what type of jaggery - black or white?"
Mohan seldom went to the provision store without his mother-and then also, he usually idled around the stack of cookies and other stuff and was required only to carry the heavy bags home. So naturally, he was taken aback by all the questions.
"Arre yaar! How many more questions will you ask? Wait for one minute, okay?"
He dialed the one who had dragged him into all this- his Mother - and repeated the shopkeeper's questions. After some 10 minutes of impatient talks from either end, Mohan finally found what his mother wanted. After cleverly maneuvering through the city's traffic block in his second hand (but well-loved and taken care of) bike, he reached home.
"Ma, your -" he stopped his words at mid-sentence, seeing the shocked faces of his parents in the living room.
"What happened?" he asked, completely bewildered.
The report playing in the news channel answered his question:
"The coastal regions of Tamilnadu are experiencing heavy wind and rainfall. Several fishing boats have gone missing."
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Megha couldn't actually feel the wind, but from the sight of trees swaying to and fro, she could guess it was getting stronger. As soon as the train entered the Kauveri river bridge, the whooshing sound of wind and the rattling of their coach increased abruptly.
Nidhi's husband looked up from his laptop anxiously.
"Nidhi is not back yet? She may be standing by the compartment door enjoying the wind... Never understands the danger... Let me go and check."
He closed his laptop and left quickly.
Suddenly, an ear-splitting screech of metal permeated the loud howling of the wind, and the train lurched sideways. People everywhere let out startled cries. Megha instinctively clutched the baby closer with one arm and held the other tightly around the metal ladder used to climb onto the upper berths.
Without losing even a single unit of its speed, the coach thundered on sideways, like a drunk without balance, and collided with the parapet of the bridge. It readily gave way and the coach plummeted straight into the river.
Megha felt that odd sensation in her stomach as she went on a free fall along with hundreds of other people. Their coach seemed to have landed on the water with a heavy impact, which sent a chilling fear through her bones. Her body ached here and there because of the collision. Shaking herself out of the shock, Megha scrambled frantically to find her balance in the continued chaotic motion, but the world continued to shake. Thankfully, she never lost her grip on the metal rod or on the baby, who began wailing.
She worried about where Prerna, Nidhi and her husband would be and how they would be. The screams of anguish were making her overwhelmed, but she knew she had to keep her wits in such a time instead of panicking. The water started entering their coach, but slowly. She guessed the river didn't have much water and felt her hope rise. Rescuers will come soon, she knew, but till then, she had to take care of herself and the little one.
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"It says coastal region. I'm sure Bhayya is nowhere near the sea right now. Let me call him."
Mohan dialed Mahesh's number, but received an "out of coverage area" message.
His parents looked at him expectantly.
"Well, it seems the signal is weak at the moment - but you know it is an ordinary occurrence during a train journey."
His father turned his face resolutely away from him, sat down on the living room couch and increased the volume of the news channel. His mother left the tray which she was carrying on the coffee table and headed straight for the pooja-room.
"If the wind is stronger, they will surely stop the train service or something."
Mohan told partly to convince his parents and partly to convince himself.
He placed the provisions on the dining table and went up his room, started his laptop and began listening to the news himself. All the channels were showing the fury of ocean and nothing more. On reading the breaking news which began scrolling across the screen suddenly, his blood turned ice cold.
"Chennai Egmore Guruvayur express derailed while moving out of Srirangam Island towards Trichy, over the Kaveri river bridge."
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The passengers began moving about once the shock of impact was over and began screaming for help. The coach lurched unsteadily in its precarious slant because of all the movement. Megha let out a yell in frustration and tried protecting the little one from any possible collision.
There was a sliding sound from her left and as Megha watched on helplessly, with her eyes widened in horror and mouth opened in a silent scream, the heavy suitcase of Nidhi's family slid from its position and landed on top of Megha's arm, which was around the baby. She felt a sharp, piercing pain on her wrist, but didn't relinquish her hold on the baby. Biting down her pain, with much effort, she managed to dislodge it from her arm. Her relief made way to dread the moment she reached a chilling realization - the baby had stopped crying : she was unconscious.
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*Arre yaar - literally means 'hey friend!' , usage here to show exasperation
*Bhayya - brother
YOU ARE READING
THE CLOUD'S CHARM
FanfictionMegha, as her name suggests, is a dynamic girl - one who floats in life's flow just like clouds. And Mohan, despite his name, is not much of a charmer in his social circle: he was yet to find someone special and currently, he was concentrating on...
