It had started to rain heavily so we decided to take a chai break. I then started to read few of texts that I had recieved when I was driving. One of them said ” Maruti Suzuki to visit our campus tomorrow , interested students may fill in their details in the spreadsheet”. I almost jumped with joy but decided to first reach Cochin and then tell it to Apoorva.
So we were back on road and it was somewhere around Mahatma Gandhi road when we started to doubt if we were on right track. We stood there for sometime and waited for someone/anyone to show up. After 15-20 minutes we decided to make a left turn and continue till we see a sign board again. Suddenly out of dark a person riding an old luna appeared and asked us where we were headed. Amazed at his generosity , Apoorva curiously asked him that how did he know we were looking for directions. The guy just smiled and said “Follow me” . We followed him to a square and after that he advised us to take a right . We thanked him and took the opposite left turn.
Apoorva was some how not convinced and said that the guy had deliberately told us the wrong way .As we stood there for a few minutes that same guy appeared again but this time from front direction i.e. the right direction . We were astonished and speechless and scared as hell. He then explained that he had inadvertently told us wrong directions. He then drove beside us till we reached MG road and then he went along his way. It was a nightmare ,we were so sacred that we were laughing like mad men. According to Apoorva he was a ghost who had met an accident while asking for directions and died on MG road.
We then drove for at least half an hour and there it was, the sign board saying “Welcome to Cochin.” Apoorva had caught cold and he was boiling with fever due to driving for more than 4 hours in rain. But he was planning to hit the road again and this time to Bangalore . I had to tell him about the possible interview chance as it was the only way to convince him to head back to college. He needed rest and a paracetamol; fortunately we found both. We rented a room and he slept while I waited eagerly for the Sun to come up.
Next morning at 5’o clock sharp, we checked out from the hotel and I took charge of driving. I drove for 3 hours at a stretch before we made our last but one stop. We were caught by traffic police, apparently Apoorva had a helmet in his hand and not over his head . We paid the fine and started laughing in front of those officers, if only they knew why. Finally, we made it back to the college. I gave that interview and got selected. We never told this story to anyone till our farewell day.
Life has moved on since that day ,but I have not .I still am the kid who wants to get back on road with his friends even if it happens only for a day or a couple of hours.
This story is also published at my blog.