With the spark she always had, she stood there, she stood there looking at the mess all around.
She was spared probably because she wasn’t as good looking as them.Flames, stone pelting, fire broken windows; burnt tires were all around her. People were shouting slogans. The goon had entered the building and set all vehicles a fire. Then they close in on her as well. However they decided to spare her. They probably found no value in her. She stood there as the sole witness to her friends being burnt. Roy’s bike, Tantra’s scooterette, Tuffy’s bullet were in ashes. She just felt her limbs were cut off and the goons had rendered her handicapped. She looked at the empty spot where Roy’s bike used to be parked. Monsoon or summer, day or night both of them had always stood together.
If she could move, she would have jumped into the flames too. But she didn’t want to live Pie. Pie never treated her like a cycle but regarded her as a friend. Pie and she shared a relation beyond any one’s understanding. He used to ride her for miles and spoke endlessly with her. If Pie had a rough day, he would take her for long rides to refresh himself .He shared secrets that even his best friend Roy was unaware of .He preferred her to any bike or car. Whenever curious onlookers gave him a meaningless glance too, it encouraged him to ride her more with his head held high.
As she watched everything get destroyed, her heart skipped a beat. Pie had gone to college she feared for his safety. She mumbled a prayer. Simultaneously she cursed the youngster for posting those insulting remarks about the political leader and cursed his party even more for the ruckus they created in retaliation. Not only things were damaged but young college goers were beaten too. Anyways democracy and freedom of speech always were a sham in our country.
However, amidst all this worldly hypocrisy, Pie and his cycle shared an extremely unadulterated equation. Two days had passed the incident but Pie’s cycle stood there all alone. She had not seen Pie at all and found it strange that he hadn’t bothered to meet her even once. Questions haunted her.
Pie stood in his balcony wanting to talk to her. But he was deeply hurt inside that he would never be able to ride her. Pie had lost one of his legs in the riot. This story ends without an ending perhaps. Soon after riots Pie shifted in bigger house and reserved a corner for his favorite cycle. So there stands his best friend with whom Pie continues to share his secrets like old times.
