A Brush with Death

A Brush With Death

 

 

We often forget about this bitter truth that despite every effort we are all going to die one day, as we are too busy feeding limitless plans to our restless minds. Death today is largely taken for granted and we choose not to think of death let alone talk about it when it is certain and guaranteed that nothing can shelter us from its merciless blow. But I am certain that people would stop ignoring as well as fantasizing death should they experience themselves the like of what I am about to narrate.

I could never have imagined then what was to follow us on that fateful night...

It was the night of September the fifth of 2013. The time was around 9 p.m. when shops in Phuntsholing town started to close.  I and my friend, Sam began to search for a taxi since we were going to visit our friends at the College of Science and Technology. After some time we could get a taxi to our great relief. After the start of our journey, just before reaching the CST gate we encountered two trucks which had completely blocked the road. There, we had to wait for about half an hour which was quite frustrating as it delayed us further. Immediately, it somewhat crossed my mind that perhaps this little mishap was some kind of spiritual message forewarning us of a looming danger. But again, I instantly stopped clinging on to that superstition fearing that something bad might really happen to us if I kept on being superstitious. So, I chose to encourage my chicken heart with a spark of hope that nothing bad would happen to us.

It took us almost two and a half hour meeting and talking with some high school mates and friends at CST. I had a great sense of satisfaction to have renewed the friendship that was forged back then.

It then followed another impatient waiting for a taxi. But our zeal to grab a taxi was temporarily interrupted by three of the boys from CST. They said they were councilors of the college checking out suspects in the theft of three laptops. I am still trying to figure out which part of our outlook and disposition made us seem like thieves because even to this day I can’t forget the evil eyes and the arrogance they were questioning us with. While I remained dumbfounded due to the stupid allegation made against us my friend was brave enough to remain calm and explain politely as to why we visited the college and to which college we belonged. As conversation went on, my friend’s politeness seemed to have paid off as we found ourselves being praised by them when they came to know that we were scholarship students studying in India. The evil in their eyes faded as they apologized and wished us goodnight. It was a great relief.

However, there was one more thing that worried us. It was too late and there was hardly a taxi coming our way. Nevertheless to our great relief again, a taxi came by and we hurriedly moved in. Later, we saw that the driver was drunk, to our utter disappointment. And the way he drove the vehicle, taking the wrong sides of the road worried us immensely. It immediately reminded me that my life was perhaps in great danger. In an instant it made me pray wholeheartedly to the second Buddha, Guru Rinpoche and I recited the Bazaguru mantra. At certain point of time, just as we met a bend of the road, instead of following the curve, he drove us down straight and in a flash we hit a bund with a loud “bang!” My heart almost seized at that moment and I couldn’t really believe it was real. If it wasn’t for the small bund alongside the road we would have fallen several feet below the road which could mean certain death. We remained dumbstruck for some time and I felt a mild pain in my left knee while my friend had felt a little pain in his head.   

The taxi driver tried to move the vehicle back but it wasn’t working. Although we were really disappointed with the driver we had to help him push the vehicle. But no matter how hard we tried we couldn’t move it back to the road even an inch. Meanwhile a vehicle came our way and a group of men inside it helped us push the taxi back. After that we gave the drunk driver his taxi fare thinking that it might help him a little for the maintenance of his damaged car.  Then the group of generous men in the vehicle dropped us back to town for which we wholeheartedly thanked them.

That night I didn’t sleep very well pondering over my first brush with death; death which remains a mystery to us all. Ever since that accident I think I have become less ignorant of death as the fact remains that we can never predict when or how we are going to die.  

P.S. This was written more than 2 years after the accident.