Page 68 - FATE & DESTINY

FATE & DESTINY

Cousin Dema’s house was crammed with guests.
“It’s full these days,” she said, “but you can adjust with them here.”
“Thank you, Ana,” I said. “I will go to Ana Deki’s place tonight. And I will go home straight from there.”
“You can stay here if you like.”
“Don’t worry about me. I will manage it.”
“You can go after dinner.”
“I will take Tsheltrim Namgay with me, Can I?”
“You may,” she said, “but send him early tomorrow.”
I nodded.
After dinner, we walked to the police headquarter. At the crossroad, a minivan cab sped down the road.
“Watch out, Tshelthrim Namgay,” I said. “Move away!”
The cab flashed its deeper at us. Tsheltrim Namgay crossed the road. I leaped back to the roadside. Crash! I
yelped as I landed on the road. The streetlights dazzled me. “What happened?” I looked around.
The cab was about a meter away behind. Broken pieces of glasses glinted in the streetlights. A woman who was a
few yards ahead of us scurried away, scrunching on her flip-flop slippers.
“Ouch!” I got up and flexed my limbs and swayed to the sides and twisted my back. It was in one piece, but the
pain on my back was agonizing. I limped to the driver’s window. “You reckless driver, how dare you?”
Mouth wide open, he said, “I am so sorry. I… I…”
“Not you, I could have died,” I said. “Ouch, my back.”
“I will be back,” he said and drove away.
“Hey, stop!” I shouted.
I limped to the gate. “Excuse me, ma’am. A taxi hit me and ran away.”
“Ran away?” said the policewoman. “Are you okay?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “Ouch, my back.”
“Noted the number?”
“Yeah. BT–1–1001.”
She plucked out the handset from her belt, twiddled the knob, and spoke into it. “The traffic police are in pursuit
of it. You should see a doctor.”
“I am okay,” I said, turning back to the road. “Over there, behind the tree!”
“Go call the driver here,” she said.
I limped up to the cab and peered in through the window. “Why’d you run away?”
The driver rolled down the glass. “Sorry, I went to get my passenger’s bag from the bus terminal.”
“Police are looking for you.”
“I am sorry, please. I will take you to the hospital.”
“No need.”
“Anything I can do for you? Where are you headed?”
I glared at him. “Why, you got a problem with that?”
“Just wanted to know if you were traveling to Phuentsholing.”
“I am going home,” I said. “Trashigang.”
“Oh, really?” He grinned. “I too am going to Trashigang, via Phuentsholing. You can travel with me if you like.”
“I got a bus ticket,” he sneered.
“Please dislodged the complaint. They will punch a hole on my license.”
“It is fatal,” I said. “Don’t be reckless next time.”
He grinned and drove away. “Thank you.”

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