Camry ***

Camry. The name rolled on Visu’s tongue. He thought of the car at least a dozen times each day. And whenever he passed one on the road, he would slow down his battered 10 year old Kancil, and wind down the window to have a good look. If he came across a parked Camry, he would walk up and stroke it gently. It was his lifetime desire. One day. One day he would own one.

Visu earned a reasonable salary. But the Camry was not within reach. Especially because he would not settle for anything less than a new 2.0G. But he had been scrimping and saving. In the meantime, he drove a jalopy. He had even put off his marriage. The Camry was a higher priority. And now it was within reach. At last. This evening he would visit Tommy, the salesman at Toyota, and put down a deposit.

He drove along in a reverie. It was awhile before he realised his phone was buzzing. “Hello. Yah, this is Visu. What ? What the hell you talking about? No. This can’t be. Wait, I’ll come there.” Visu was in a daze, trying to focus. His head swam.

***
Visu sat at his mother’s bedside. It had been a tough three months since she had the stroke. But she had pulled through. She was almost normal now. Visu looked down at his mother. He no longer thought of the Camry. He could not think of it. His savings were exhausted and he was deeply in debt now. But he had his mom.