Home ***

Durappa lay at an awkward angle, mouth wide open. He slept blissfully, snoring sporadically, oblivious to the swarm of mosquitoes hovering all around him. The noise was earsplitting, even at that late hour. Air horns blared, and trucks revved loudly. The drivers and assistants yelled to make themselves heard over the din. But Durappa slept through it all, lying on the hard seat of his truck. He was exhausted after the long drive from Chandigarh to Bhopal. In the morning he would continue, driving his truck to Hyderabad.

***
Durappa had mixed feelings about his new life. The money was good. The work was easy. He was a gardener in the big hospital. Everyone back home in his village was envious. “Durappa has got a job in Malaysia”. But he missed home. He missed the familiar long drives, along the hot and dusty highways. He missed the simple but delicious meals at the dhabas. He missed his wife and children. And most of all, he missed the noise and bustle. Durappa was unable to sleep in his new quarters. It was too quiet.

He walked along the car park driveway slowly, carrying the shears. He was tired and sleep deprived.

***
Ranjan was fuming. His boss was so unreasonable. But Ranjan knew he had to keep his cool. Of late, his blood pressure had been erratic. He took deep breaths. He tried to think of the upcoming weekend.

As he turned the bend, he had to slow down. The man was walking along the middle of the driveway. Ranjan’s anger rose. He wanted to blast the horn. But he calmed himself down. Patience. Patience. Ranjan slowed to a crawl. The car rolled quietly behind the man. But the man was lost in thought, oblivious to his surroundings. Ranjan was reaching the end of his tether. Just as he was about to tap the horn, the man spotted the car. It startled him. He jumped to the side, instinctively.

***
Durappa let loose a string of choice curses. “Are you blind? Can’t you see a man walking? Why couldn’t you sound your horn? Sneaking up like that! You almost gave me a heart attack.” He brandished the shears.

Ranjan stood transfixed for a minute. This imbecile had been walking in the middle of the driveway blocking his path, and now he was screaming at him. Ranjan jumped forward, trying to grab Durappa. Durappa fended him off with the shears. The heavy metal shears hit the bonnet of the car, scraping the paint. Ranjan was infuriated. He grabbed Durappa and shook him. It was too much for Durappa. He went berserk. He landed repeated blows on Ranjan with the shears. Blood spurted everywhere. Ranjan grabbed the shears and stabbed Durappa.

Soon they both lay lifeless, in a pool of blood. For a moment, it was quiet. Then, suddenly all hell broke loose. People screaming. Alarms sounding. Sirens wailing. A cacophony of sounds. Durappa would have felt at home. If he had been alive.