The gloom had descended before lunchtime.
Everyone around, adept at reading the signs of their world, started moving that much faster, in a hurry to reach shelter. He fought every urge to crawl into bed as the assault began.
The rain would stop, it would slacken and slow, at the very least, he was sure of it. 6 hours later, he was still chanting the same mantra... It will stop, it will stop...
Around him, there were rickshaws stalled, their drivers pushing them out of the traffic, drenched to the bone and losing money by the second. He knew he should be thankful that he hadn't met the same fate, but part of him wanted the excuse to stop.
Tired, exhausted and in the middle of a fight with his previous customer, at 8pm, he met her. Spurred on by habit, he responded with a "Haanji." when she asked him if he would take her where she wanted to go.
She got in, waiting patiently while he waited impatiently for his money. "Kya hua?"
That distracted him. Nobody usually cared... Who was this girl?
She was nice looking. Looked tired, but nodded in understanding as he told her his problem. Taking his money from the previous customer, he kickstarted his vehicle and they started their ride. "Ek kaam karoge?"
She wanted to go further, but wanted him to bring her back. She asked him if he minded. The unexpected kindness made him say yes.
It was a long ride. There was a mini flood. There was traffic. But she chatted with him... About his auto, about the tulsi plant he had bought that morning, about the traffic, about the rain... She spoke with him, not at him...
He looked back at her as he replied, once, and saw that she was looking right at him, interested in his answers, not looking at her phone or outside.
His vehicle had never felt like a chariot before. As he battled the waves of the monsoon, he felt like a warrior, taking precious cargo into a warzone. It made the day better; at 9.30pm, his day seemed brighter than it had at 2pm.
Dropping her home, he felt exhausted as he felt the vehicle get lighter, as she got out. With a light "Yeh lo bhaiyya, thank you!" she left, walking off, shaking her arms to get rid of the water.
He unfolded the notes she'd given him & stared at his meter. She'd overpaid.
He looked down at his tulsi plant, swaying in the momentum of the ride.
"Maante ho?" she'd asked him... If he didn't before, he did now.
