Khwaab

first encounter pt1

"Okay, Maa, got it, 1kg tomato. Anything else you forgot?" I yell over the crowd in the market before tucking my phone in my back pocket. It's so noisy, it feels like the whole city is here.

I hear another person beside me yelling on the phone. I swear to god, what is all this noise for? I see nobody handing out free veggies to the loudest person here, stupi- "How about you ride your motorcycle on my face instead of the road?" I snapped at the guy who was driving more over people's toes than on the street.

"Come on, we are done," my brother drags me along.

"Literally"

"I will take this bag and you take the other one", he says, tying our shopping bags to each bicycle. It seems like mammi wants to stock everything for a year, and before I could say anything, he flew away. No sibling loyalty, I tell you.

I stumbled my way out of that chaos, stumbling, almost tripping a few times. And finally, fresh air. Cough, cough, never mind judging by AQI, I think only my ancestors ever breathed actual fresh air.

my eyes fall on people fighting a shopkeeper over 5 rupees. As my feet pedal almost automatically, I sometimes wonder why humans think they are so superior. An ant, a hundred times smaller than us, lives with more dignity.

I make my way back home, doing what I am good at, thinking about the world more than I think about my life. Lost in thought, I barely notice a huge truck coming around the turn. I lose control as the handlebars jerk like some hormonal mood swing. Why does physics love ruining my life? The next thing I know, I crash into a boundary wall of an abandoned school.

Adrenaline rushing, I manage to stand. A man running toward me, but before I can process anything, my legs give out, and I collapse.