ON a night like this, she would not have been out. But tonight, it was different.
Sandy loved driving and was driving very fast. He could clearly hear Clara's voice, "Sandy..!" It seemed Clara was calling him. Yes, Sandy was not his name. But that was what Clara called him lovingly. Clara could never pronounce 'Sandip' in proper accent and hence preferred to call him by that name.
Sandip was lost in thoughts….
It was two years ago. Sandip had gone to Australia for a post graduate course in business administration where he met Clara… Clara Jones. They could feel each other's admiration in their eyes when they met for the first time. As a year rolled on admiration grew into love, but it was just then that Sandip had to return to Kolkata. It was sad but they continued their relationship, affectionately binded by the 'net'.
Good news struck Sandip when he learnt that Clara was coming to Kolkata on an assignment at IIM Joka. Sandip was overjoyed and he had run out of ideas about how to welcome his love. He wanted to surprise her. The flight's arrival was at a late hour. Sandip left to receive Clara after dinner. The night was not at all in any welcome mood. It was a downpour with a hardblowing storm. However Sandip tried to drive as fast as he could but he was running late owing to reoccurring traffic jams. Soon he realised that he was already late and by then the flight might have arrived. He was little sad and also an eerie feeling crept inside him . He did not know why. As the jam was taking a toll on his patience he walked forward to know the exact cause of the mess. An accident had occurred. A taxi collided with a bus and the driver and a lady passenger had expired.
A lady passenger……. ? That eerie sensation in Sandip rose again and he ran towards the site. Yes, it was Clara.
The oncoming lights brought Sandip back from his memories. Tonight Sandip was driving along the same road, the date was same and a storm blew just as hard. The downpour blurred his vision as the rains lashed against the windscreen. Before he could realise anything when the two blinding headlights came upon him. He could see no more… but yes, he could clearly see Clara. He could not be wrong. He was dead or so he thought…..
By Partha Sarathi Das , Times of India, Kolkata