Being Thankful
Even as I gasped and struggled in the waters,memories of me asking mother as to why someone who didn't know swimming would go near a water body flashed through my mind.My tone had been condescending and dismissive of their ‘foolishness’.Mom of course was more worldly wise and besides explaining that thing called ‘fate’ she cautioned me against speaking ill of the dead. I sat mum for three hours straight even as my friends played the cricket match we had set out to.I had been rescued by a classmate and how I felt for the rest of the day cannot be put in words.That evening,even as my mom said a small prayer choking with tears and hugged me,remorse and thankfulness weren't mere adjectives anymore.I had felt death up close and personal. One night,11 years later,I was driving all agog with excitement that being my first time on a highway. Surrounded by fumes from trucks and the dust floating around,I decided to get the visor of my helmet down.It...