The taxi stopped
in front of me and asked, “Do you need a ride, mate?”
Sweat was
pouring down my face. I was knackered and was not sure of my capability to walk
after being chased by someone. I looked around the taxi and saw many weird
things. The taxi was bright yellow on the outside but blazing red on the
inside.
“This guy must
be Asian,” I said to myself while looking at his ID in between the
air-conditioners. The name of the taxi driver was Sudin.
“Where are we
off to, brother?” he asked now realising that he had an accent.
“Just drive, I
want to leave New York and take some time to calm down.”
“You don’t seem
too happy. What seems to be the problem?” I asked Sudin.
“Nothing, it’s
just that I lost someone close.”
“Tell me about
it. We have a long journey ahead of us,” I said softly and warmly.
***
In a blink of an
eye, he was gone. I could not believe he left me in this cruel world and I
still mourned of his death. I told myself that it was a dream and I was going
to wake up seeing his face again. But we all knew that was not going to happen.
His hair was a wavy as the ocean, his emerald green eyes were sparkling like
the stars at night and he was as fit as a fiddle. He was my one and only
brother. I lost him during a tragic accident. We were on our way home from a
football game late at night. As he was about to hit the gas pedal, a car came
speeding through and destructively hit us. Our car flipped and my vision became
blur. I saw my brother’s head split into two and a river of blood flowing from
his skull. I could not do anything about it. He was dead. He was the only one
who had my back during my tough times.
“That is ever so
tragic, brother. I am sorry for your loss,” I interrupted.
“Then why are
you sweating like you have just ran a marathon?”
“Well that is
another story I want to tell you about. Shall I continue?” I asked.
Sudin nodded
without saying a word.
***
There I was
walking down a cold and misty alley. The sounds of mice skittering around
looking for food in the trash cans. Homeless people were looking half dead with
their dowdy clothes. I dragged my feet hopelessly trying to find peace and tranquillity.
As I walked I could feel hands grabbing my trousers. The homeless people were
clinging to me asking and begging me for money. I casted them off as my heart
and soul were already gone. I had lost the decency of feeling empathy of having
mercy. The alley came to a sudden silence. I began to think about him, the
accident. His absence made my heart grow fonder. I could still not accept his
departure. As I walked, I could hear a blithe gait of someone walking towards
me. His shadow was not see as the light was at the end of the alley.
I tried to calm
myself down and walking at the same pace assuming he was not following me. A
drop of sweat filled with fear went down my forehead sedately.
“Am I going to
die here? Is he going to kill me? Is he going to rob me?” I asked myself. I was
definitely not ready for the worst possible outcome. I knew I had to turn around
and approach him at some point. So I braved myself as my guts told me to turn
around, my stiff body was reluctant to face him. I mustered up my remaining
courage and turned around. There he was rooting to the ground slightly taller
than me. He reached out for his pocket from his worn out jeans. I thought he
was taking out a knife so I made a run for it. To my surprise, he was able to
chase me down the alley as if we were on a race.
“I am a dead meat
for sure,” I said as I approached a dead end. He came towards me putting up a
smile. A sinister and disgusting one I would say. He pulled out ‘something’
from his pocket and I realised it was precious to me. The ‘thing’ he took out
was my wallet. The leather wallet I bought from a friend who happened to sell
stolen goods for only 2 dollars.
“Don’t judge a
book by its cover,” he said, leaving me speechless and guilty. I had learnt my
lesson that not all strangers were immoral and uneducated. Then, I looked for a
way out of the alley to the side of the road, trying to find a taxi for me.
***
“Thank you for
listening to my story, brother.” I finished my story with an exhale of relief.
“I really learnt
something from your story,” Sudin said nodding his head like a woodpecker.
I thanked him for
the ride and paid him the fare. I went off the taxi and waved him goodbye. Even
though it was just sharing thoughts between us, it indeed gave me a valuable
experience because that was the first time I talked to a taxi driver!
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