Chapter 06 - Finalè
With sheer curiosity, Daniel turned back to check where the shadows were coming from, while Vishnu and Jacob didn’t notice this and still were in their light intoxication. As Daniel looked back, he noticed two tall dark figures, standing behind the trio, who wore casual dresses too. “Hey guys!” said in a deep voice from one of them, bringing down chills in the trio and from hearing this, Vishnu and Jacob twitched back to check where the voice came from. There was a sense of fear that was noticeable in the turn that Vishnu and Jacob made. Vishnu and Jacob noticed those two guys, who wore t-shirts and trousers, with one of them wearing a cap on his head and holding on to something in their hand. It was followed by a question from one of the strangers. “Bro do you have a lighter?” asked the tall one. “Bro you got the stuff?”, asked Jacob in return. Daniel and Vishnu looked at Jacob, shocked, not knowing about what to do next. “Yup, sure. You wanna join?” asked the other guy who came along with the tall stranger. “Sure” replied Jacob. Daniel and Vishnu looked at each other with their mouth wide open, clueless about what was happening around them. The capped stranger took out something from his jacket pocket and lighted it up with the lighter that Jacob passed it to them. The two strangers sat along with the trio in a circle and started passing the joint that they lit up, to Jacob. After taking a hit, Jacob passed it to Vishnu. And so, the joint passed around in that circle of five people. Slowly the circle were oozing down and melting down with nature as the lights slowly darkened. And then into complete darkness. There was laughter that could be heard vaguely in the background along with the rumbling noise of the sea. Moments later, the joint extinguished and they could hear a silence that filled the circle. “Nice”, exclaimed Jacob who was lost in that light breeze that carried his soul along with it.
Then a knock woke the trio up. They startled and jumped to check who was that knocking and waking them up from their peaceful sleep. Jacob who opened the door found that it was the owner who was knocking on the door and he came to remind that the trio paid only for two nights and they had to vacate or else pay extra if they chose to stay anymore. Jacob asked for an hour and they all got up to get back their senses. The first thing that they did was check their phones for pictures of that unbelievable incident that happened the previous night. They had a slight memory about the things that happened after smoking up and seeing the photographs, the first thing that came from Daniel’s mouth was that whatever happened last night wasn’t just a dream. Then Jacob pushed himself towards the bathroom as they had little time to pack and leave. And so did Daniel and Vishnu who started packing everything as they could leave soon once they freshen up. And they made sure that their certificates were all kept safe and everything was packed up properly. After Jacob made it out of the bathroom, Daniel got in to freshen and after Daniel, Vishnu. At about 08.30 in the morning, they made it out of that hotel but they had to pay an extra 100 rupees more as they had taken time to freshen up. Soon, the trio made it out and they were ready to explore the rest of Pondicherry. But before that, it was time for breakfast and their destination was Market Road where they thought that they would try something different.
This time it was a road side shop where people had to stand and have their food as they didn’t provide any chairs to sit. It was a shop that was on wheels with a stove and a big vessel on it. They had two big vessels kept beside the stove which contained the curries for the puri that they sold. It looked unhygeinic at the fist but the demand was huge as it could be said from the customers who stood around waiting for their food. Even they had to wait a short time as the shop was busy with five of its customers. Soon they ordered puri which was accompanied with the chutney and baaji that was poured out from the vessels that sat beside the stove. One bite made the trio realise the actual reason behind the large demand for this shop. The food that they provided had that homely touch that is not something common to find in any of the restaurants. The food was so delicious that people ordered for more and it opened up some memories from past. What they provided they must be doing it under pure passion and that is what makes it stand out.
Once they are done with breakfast they were off to a few musuems and an art gallery that was around. The trio walked around for some time and thought to take shelter in a café that near the beach. Suddenly Jacob asked out the events that happened last night and about how did they get back to room. Both Daniel and Vishnu nodded their head saying that they didn’t have any idea about who those people were. They started checking every photos that they took in their phones and they noticed that every photos were of the similar poses and there wasn’t much that they knew about them. They tried hard to recall about the things that happened but they only could remember taking those photos with those strangers and then leaving back to their room in an auto that was about to leave the stand. The three of them looked really puzzled as they didn’t have any idea about who those were except for a few photographs that they have taken. Soon the three of them drifted to their own worlds inside their phones, with the wind from the sea making them comfortable. After a while, Vishnu looked up and asked Jacob, “ When are you leaving to Dubai?”
“Mostly by next week!” replied Jacob. “Da, I think this trip was meant to happen” said Daniel, “Maybe after this, we might not know where we would be, or even if, we would have contact with each other. We have been talking about going on a trip together from the first year of our college, and we were never able to do it. We had all plans, but something or the other came up in between and cancelled the trip. Even though it is not everyone, atleast we made it out on this trip. We don’t know what tommorow holds on for us. As Jacob found a job that matched his passion, someday we might also find something that matches ours. We are getting into late adulthood and our preferences are definetly going to change. Sometimes our likes and dislikes today, won’t be the same after 3 or 4 years. Well let’s hope that everyone find what they really want in their life.” Suddenly Vishnu looks up and says, “We forgot about Paradise Beach.” Daniel and Jacob smiled and said, “Maybe next time!” The trio sat down in that café, ordering coffee and having their chats and as the sun moved down, all that was left was an empty table and three chairs around them.
FIN.
