The Accident
It was past midnight. Five-year-old Madhu was travelling with her parents in their new van. They had visited her grandparents and were on their way back home. She was seated on the back seat munching the dry snacks provided by her grandmother. She was her grandmother's favourite.
“Close your eyes and go to sleep beta. You have school tomorrow early morning,” explained her mother.
“Yes Ma, just one more. Then I’ll sleep,” answered Madhu.
Madhu couldn’t stop munching those perfectly crisp and round chakalis.
Suddenly, she felt a jerk. No, not a jerk, it was something else. In a blink of an eye, she found herself lying on the bushes. Her parents, where were they? Where was their van?
She got up and could neither see their van nor her parents. Not able to bear the excruciating pain, she walked with a heavy limp. She couldn’t spot anyone on the highway.
She cried loudly, “Maaaa, Papaaaa.”
Madhu didn’t know for how long she was there before she fell unconscious.
She woke up in the hospital bed. Her parents had left the world. Not getting immediate help was a major reason, as they had lost a lot of blood. Luckily, Madhu escaped with a few bruises.
Needless to say, she was brought up by her grandparents.
Twenty years later -
Madhu was on her honeymoon. She had married the love of her life, Aman.
Madhu could see herself travelling in a car. A small girl came out on the road wailing, “Please help. My parents are badly injured.”
Madhu woke up, perspiring. This nightmare haunted her since that fateful day.
“Same nightmare ?” Aman asked anxiously. “You’ll get over it.”
He hugged her, “Get ready, honey. We are going sight-seeing within half an hour,” exclaimed an excited Aman.
Madhu smiled.
After an hour, they were on their way to a temple. Aman was driving the rented car. Madhu was happily humming her favourite song.
Suddenly out of nowhere, they saw a small girl waving her hands, beckoning them to stop.
Aman stopped the car. Madhu lowered the glass of the window and noticed that the girl was weeping.
She asked, “What’s the matter, dear?”
The girl replied, “Please help. My parents are badly injured.”
Shocked, Madhu and Aman looked at each other !
Madhu ran out of the car towards the place, where the girl pointed. She saw a couple lying there in a pool of blood. She immediately called the ambulance and waited till the ambulance arrived. The couple and the girl were carried in the ambulance.
Five days later -
Madhu followed up the status of the injured family. They were recovering from multiple fractures. The doctors concluded that if the treatment was not given in the right time, then there would have been less hopes for the couple to survive. The girl was doing fine.
Madhu could connect the dots of the nightmares and this incident. God had made her an intermediate for saving this family, and the girl from becoming an orphan.
The nightmares had vanished after that incident. She somehow felt that she and her parents were at peace now.
***
Glossary - Chakali : a savoury snack
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