People are rushing to their workplaces, populating the roads with cars, bikes and autos. On one such busy road, a car banged into an auto from behind, so hard that the car's bumper broke and got stuck to the auto's rear. The auto driver hurriedly got down, saw the auto's rear with horror, and started yelling at the car driver.
The car driver, knowing that he is guilty and also because he lacks the skill to get away blaming others, apologized upfront. He parked his vehicle aside to avoid a traffic jam and told the Auto driver that he is ready to pay up as it's his mistake.
The auto driver relaxed a bit and started inspecting the damage.
"Paanch sau hota hai isko theek karne keliye", he said.
Car driver felt that he is being overcharged, but he is helpless. He reached for his phone, and to his horror, it is switched off. He cursed himself for not charging his phone over the previous night. He stopped carrying cash since November 2016. He doesn't even remember anyone's number byheart to call from auto driver's phone for help.
"Bhayya.. aapka number dedijiye.. me ghar jaakar aapko paisa bhejdunga"
The auto driver was not happy with that suggestion.
"Aise kaise hota Saab?"
"Aap please bharosa rakhiye. Phone me charging khatam ho gaya dekhiye", he said, showing his phone to the auto driver.
The auto driver inspected the phone. It was not switching on. He tried fitting his charger into the phone, but it was not fitting.
"Phir bhi Saab. Iss sheher me kaise bharosa rakhu?"
"Haan me samajh sakta Hun. Lekin please. Me khud galti accept kiya na. Please bharosa rakhiye"
"Nahi Saab"
That to and fro repeated until it became redundant. The car driver is getting irritated that the auto driver is not understanding the situation. The auto driver finally thought of a solution.
"Aap ke peeche main aapka ghar aaunga. Aap udar paise dedijiye"
"Haan thik hai". The car driver sighed with a sense of relief.
"Lekin, aapka phone main apni paas rakhunga", the auto driver said.
The car driver snatched his phone from Auto driver's hand and blurted,
"Aisa kaise hota hai? Aap chalo na mere peeche peeche"
"Aap nikal gaye toh?". The auto driver was unrelenting. "Aapko bharosa nahi hai toh mera phone aapke paas rakhiye", he gave another suggestion.
The car driver was not convinced. He was unable to trust the Auto driver. He paced around, scratched his head, and finally came up with another solution. He parked his vehicle there itself, went home by the same auto, charged his phone at home, and paid him back. He requested the auto driver if he could drop him back at the accident spot, which the auto driver reluctantly agreed to do. So, they went back together, and the auto driver left after dropping car driver near his car.
The car driver was lost in thoughts as he completed remaining part of his commute. He had a very bad start to his day. What could he do to salvage the loss of time and money?
He thought the only way is to write a story about it.