not here anymore

I don’t know why I am in an auto rickshaw. I don’t know where the rickshaw is headed to. I don’t remember taking it. I don’t remember instructing it. So, I don’t know where I might be going. I don’t know why there’s an unknown small boy seated on my left. I am not surprised by anything; by bad road, the journey, even by the strange boy. I don’t seem to look forward to reaching where ever rickshaw was headed to.

Road isn’t good at all. It seems under construction; road and everything else around. We are moving in a narrow part of the road on left. Pavement is full of large broken pieces of a huge wall or of something else. But they are all concrete. Who dropped them there? How did they arrive here? Middle of the road, other side of the road, every place seemingly piled up the in same way. Have those boulder like things come from some place being renovated or it will be used as filling under the new road or… I did not find myself interested. I refused to think about it.

After moving for an unspecified, un-noticed amount of time and without any interaction with the quiet child, the vehicle started slowing down. Then slowly it started drifting towards the left of the road. It was about to touch the pavement, and that was not comfy. I took charge by extending my arm to turn the handle of rickshaw to stay on course. I thought driver may not be feeling to well. No, I did not think that. I did not think anything. But in a few seconds it stopped. Engine also died soon. ‘Thank god’! Hmm… who said that! Perhaps I did.

Without a word the driver leaned mildly, then heavily towards his left. I tapped the boy, who got off and then I too. Driver had no expression on his face, no pain, no why or… just a large bundle of blankness. I looked around. May be for a doctor initially, then for anything moving; like a police-van, a construction worker or someone who also wasn’t supposed to be there, here I mean; like me and maybe like the boy.

Well the only thought I got was, that ‘the driver who wasn’t supposed to be here, is not here anymore.’

AI Version

Hours 24 only

Moment I met you

I felt there was a possibility

Of heat, fire and rain

Rum helped our eyes lock for longer than they should do

We didn’t have much time

We knew that

We quickly gulped three drinks down

Automatically everyone got up 

And scattered on the pavement, unsteadily

But tried to walk straight all over the pavement

We too walked out

Some how stayed stuck to each other

I was high and had no idea

Where it could lead to

You too had no idea

If it was going they way

It needs to

Hands touched, fingers entangled

My watch and her bangles

We found ourselves sitting together at dinner

People knew we didn’t belong to each other

But no one was bothered

Lamp of my life

Now that you are here...

 

Things are looking up a bit

Seeming brighter a bit

 

Perhaps you have added

Days to my ending game

Fuel to my dying flame

 

Flame that was about to be

Covered by sheets of darkness

Overwhelmed by raging storms,

Or blown off by stress

 

But now the lamp has regained strength

To quell the darkness’ reign

And beam with happiness

To spread the light again

 

Now that you are back here

Life of my lamp is revamped