Break Point

Chapter 13

Alex

"That's not a car" I looked over at her mammoth vehicle cringing due to heat and intense sunlight. It looked like a modified version of an SUV. A mixture of monster trucks and large carrier vehicles. Looking over at Preet, I imagined what she looked like when she drove it. She had a small build, petite hands and legs, she was no taller than 5'2. However, her body language was a different story altogether. She carried herself like she was the queen of the world, chin up, stomach in, shoulder straight.

She was smiling now, "It's not a car, because it's a jeep. A vintage one. Hey baby." She kissed her jeep and looked at me again. "Hop in or I'll leave you", she was all business again, but a faint smile still played on her lips, like she was laughing on a joke I could not understand. Maybe she was making fun of the dumb American, who on his first day in a foreign land managed to get lost. I cursed myself internally.

We didn't talk much for the first fifteen minutes, I took this opportunity to look outside, I was after all on vacation, and this was India. I had always imagined it to be something out of Slumdog Millionaire, poor children running around naked, slums everywhere, everything in Sepia. But as I look around me, I am astonished by the scenic beauty of the place. Big palm trees with small houses between them. Faint glimpses of the beach as houses pass by, the smell of spice and fresh sea food. People on the side of the road, drinking chai, smoking, talking. It wasn't that different from any country side. I even looked around a little in her jeep. It was full of maps and postcards and souvenirs. A picture of an old man hung from the rear view mirror. He had one of his palms stretched out, and light was coming out of his hand. I tried to study it.

"That's Sai Baba, he is a God."

"You worship him? I am sorry I didn't mean to be rude, I was just looking."

"Its okay. No I don't exactly worship him. I am not much of a believer. But I like his principle, the things he taught. He is sort of a role model."

"Even I am not a believer. But my parents are big on religion."

"My parents too. They force me to go to temples. I usually go there just to give money to the poor."

"I don't even bother going to church, it bores me, instead I go to this animal shelter to feed animals." She looked at me for a minute longer then concentrated on the road. The smile was gone, it was replaced by line on her forehead.

"You think too much" I said, observing her face. She looked at me and laughed, the lines vanish from her head. We came abruptly to a stop. "Shit" she said, and got out of the car. I followed her. She stopped a policeman and started talking to him in Hindi. I didn't know the language, but I could somewhat understand the conversation. Something had happened on the road ahead, there were cars all around.

Preet turned back to me and said, "The roads are closed. There is a storm tonight and the road we were taking goes over the ocean. There is no other way to go into the main city. We are stuck here."

"Oh man, for how long?"

"A day probably, the policeman said it's a minor storm."

"What will I do till then?" She looked worried too. She got out her phone, "Still no service" and then looked over to me. "You are a bad omen foreigner." And then started smiling again. "Okay, I have to go visit a sight, you can tag along. And then after I am done, I'll drop you at Mira's, she'll figure something for you. Meanwhile you get to sight see. Okay?" I nodded in agreement. As much as I wanted to go back to my friends, I also wanted adventure, which usually took the edge off my anger problems.