Connected: A YHM Story ✔️

Chapter 5 - The One With The Car Accident

Next day (Sunday), 12:30 pm

Ishita took off her coat as she rolled her shoulders to release the tension from her upper back that followed the two hour long emergency surgery. She finished the last of her paperwork for the surgery and gathered her things to leave for the day and enjoy the rest of her Sunday with her family. She recalled how difficult it had been that morning to convince Ruhi to let her go to the clinic and that too on a Sunday. Thankfully, Ishita's promise to return before lunch and Amma's quick thinking to distract Ruhi with her coloring books and crayons had done the trick and allowed Ishita to make a getaway. 

She couldn't help but think how she and Ruhi were both so connected to each other in such a short time span. What would ever happen if they were separated? How would Ruhi live without her mother? And how would Ishita live without her daughter? Ishita shook her head to get rid of these obnoxious thoughts. How could they ever be separated? They were legally mother and daughter now, Ishita told herself. She shouldn't even entertain such frightening thoughts, especially if they were nowhere near likely to be true.

Ishita sat in her car and started driving towards home only to be stopped again midway, as a luxurious white sedan scratched her car while trying to overtake her. She grew furious and immediately blew her horn to make the driver of the car stop as she too parked her car on the side for a confrontation. She got out of the car and slammed her door shut as she proceeded to survey the scratch on her red SUV. The driver of the other car, dressed in a driver's uniform, stepped out and began to apologize profusely.

"Sorry madam, wo mere saab ko jaldi hai na, to mai thoda fast gaadi chala raha tha. Aur aapki car ko takkar lag gayi. So sorry memsaab, maaf kar dijiye."

[Sorry madam, my boss is in a hurry, so I was driving a bit fast. And I accidentally hit your car. So sorry ma'am, please forgive me.]

But Ishita Iyer was a force to be reckoned with.

"Itni kya jaldi hai aapke saab ko bhaiya? Ki aapko kisi ki gaadi hi nahi dikhi?! Kaun hai ye saab aapke? Bulaao unko!"

[What kind of a rush is your boss in exactly, that you didn't even see such a huge car? Who is this boss of yours? Call him!]

Just then, a sauve, dashing man dressed in a black and grey suit stepped out from the back of the car. Having already figured out the situation, he removed his goggles and spoke with an air of nonchalance. "Shaant ho jao madam. Bas zara sa scratch hai jo itni door se dikhta bhi nahi hain. Aur aapki gaadi bhi kitni purani hai. Nau ki jagah ab das scratches hai. Usme kya farak padta hai?"

[Calm down madam. It's just a scratch. It's not even visible from afar. And your car is so old. Instead of nine, there are ten scratches now. What's the big deal in that?]

"How arrogant are you? Door se dikhta nahi hai to iska matlab aapke driver ne jo kiya wo sahi hai? Aur purani gaadi hai iska matlab jo jee main aaya woh karoge? Listen, you..." Ishita pointed at the man as she took a few steps forward. But her opponent was no less.

[Just because you can't see it from afar doesn't mean what your driver did is ok! And it being an old car is no excuse for you!]

"Sabse pehli baat, kisi ne kuch jaan bujhke nahi kiya. Doosri baat, mere driver ki itni galti nahi hai jitni tumhari hai. Itna dheere gaadi chala rahi thi to usne overtake kar liya tumhe. What's the big deal?"

[First of all, no one did anything on purpose. Secondly, it's your fault more than my driver's. You were driving so slowly that he overtook you.]

"What's the big deal?! You have the audacity to ask me what's the big deal? Overtake karne ka bhi tarika hota hai. Kisi ki gaadi ko thok ke overtake nahi kiya jaata. Aur ye to shukar manao ki sirf scratch laga hai. Agar zyada kuch ho jata to? Pata hai..."