Cigarettes & Peonies

01

Just beat it.....beat it......beat it.......beat it.

The speakers rumbled inside the commodious Tata Nexon SUV, reverberating thunderously under the sleek finish roof of the luxurious made in india car.
"Will you lower down the sound or should I smash the speakers!!!!" an above 50 man cried, all worked up. Two youthful lads, one perched upon the driver's seat while the other on the passenger seat, huffed and lowered down the sound. Micheal Jackson was now feebly heard unlike before when he was practically moon walking on their heads.
"That's the problem in travelling with oldies!!!!" grumbled the lad on the driver's seat. Now, couple of things to remember, the guys were alike for the most part meaning they were identical twins. The only discrepancy arising was in the form of their statures, one was well toned while the other was slightly chubby.
"Ofcourse when that oldie is your father!!!!! Thankless block heads!!!!" the adult man spat vehemently and the lads rolled their eyes.
"Papa are we there yet!!!!" a timid voice rose from beside him, looking down he found his beautiful 17 year old daughter looking up at him with her small round eyes brimming with innocence and exhaustion caused by this tedious journey. He smiled and wrapped his arm around her.
"Just a little more my heart, besides we are already in the Nilgiris!!!! C'mon, see all these mighty mountains and these vast stretches of meadows!!!!! Aren't they beautiful????" he said trying to cheer her up. She snuggled into her father's chest and peeked through the window at the majestic downs rolling outside as the car sped off.
"Maahi, do you know we are going to live in a very special place!!!! It's a town lorded over by the mafias!!!!" the guy on the driver's seat said bluntly and was slapped on the head after that by his twin. Her eyes widened. Although she didn't exactly know what mafias were but she knew that much that they weren't pleasant people. They enjoyed breaching the laws and forcing ruckus into an otherwise serene community.
"Kush you better zip it up....... maahi, it's nothing dear. He's just all bonkers, you know how he is right!!!! Maahi, there are bad people in every part of this world, we had some in our previous town, remember!!!! You just need to stay at least 10 feet away from them, that's it." the guy on the passenger seat, called luv, explained her softly. Maahi nodded tentatively. Her eyelids were already growing heavy and she just wanted to sleep.
"Well I think the kids must be hungry by now. Let's stop near a food point!!!! Besides kush has been driving for so long, he must be tired!!! A little rest would do us good!!!!" a woman in her late 40s said. She sat beside Maahi.
"That's a good idea!!! I see this burger King banner round the corner, let's speed up already!!!!" proposed luv looking through the windshield at the iridiscent banner of burger King.

Maahi sat on the trunk of the car, beside the pavement. The wind drifted softly across the thick green meadows, rustling the foliage of the tall Nilgiri trees generating an eerie hum which hung over the desolate roads of the mountains. The undulating forms of great mountains rose steeply across the entire yercaud, fencing in the town with its ginormous elevation. Once or twice a shiver ran down her spine as the sun was retreating and the evening freeze was insidiously clawing its way around the yercaud. The chilly wind played with the loosened locks of her hairs which had slipped out of her careless braid, hanging down from her left shoulder. They were already in yercaud but their destination lay a few kilometres off yercaud. It was a town called Vanasthali, not so much popular due to awful reasons which she didn't know about.
"It doesn't take so much time to make a burger!!!!!" her father grumbled. Like every father around the globe, he too disliked fast foods and relied mostly on home made food. But obviously you won't get home cooked food on the edges of the sinuous roads of the mountains. Suddenly, deafening music blared from behind them along with it the cacophony of harsh rumble of heavy engine. A jeep sped past them, swirling the withered leaves in the eddies of air, and throwing off a tornado of mud from under the heavy tyres. Her parents hardly resisted themselves from falling headlong on the muddy road. Maahi inquisitively looked at the jeep, it was a modified open wily jeep, costing no less than 50 lakhs in Indian currency. It was painted dangerously black and on the rear was a symbol of 'Om' painted thickly in saffron. On the driver's seat sat a brawny guy, at least that's what he appeared from the back, and along with him sat four other blokes who cackled monstrously. She also caught a whiff of liquor when the car ran past her.
"Huh!!!!! Brats!!!!! Maahi, dear......you see these morons, you need to stay clear of them!!!! Tykes like these are a burden to mother earth!!!!" her father told her disgruntled. She nodded casually. Her brothers came in the meantime with a paper bag in each of their hand.
"Wow!!!! Did you see that jeep.......man that was something!!!!!" kush was fangirling over the unwonted jeep, much to his father's dislike.
"Oh shut up!!!!! Jeeps like these are the playthings of spoiled rich brats. I hate these jeeps and jeep riders!!!!! C'mon now, let's start eating!!!" her father grumbled and her brothers huffed.