He was in his early twenties and yes ;could be described as " the young blood " in our family . He was the one who taught me to cycle. I kept complaining to him how short and weak I was. So he came up with the plan of getting me a punching bag( that too filled with sand) so that I could be stronger; also a wooden bar for me to do pull ups so that I became taller. This plan dint go well as planned because I was in the boarding at that time. So here I am, short and not too strong.
The construction of our new house was going on so there were lot of things lying around our house. Besides this; there were thefts happening in the neighborhood. All these resulted in my cousin staying at our house with my mom and maternal grandmother.
He used to come very late at night after work. In spite of my mom telling many times to sleep inside the house, he insisted on putting a bed in the sit-out so that he could sleep without waking up anyone as soon as he came back.
On that eventful night, by midnight my mom and granny heard the sound of someone moving the bed around. So they got up and called out to my brother. They did not get any reply but still could hear someone getting the bed ready. They waited for his response and after a while, they thought he might be too tired and must have slept off.
Next morning, the house was awakened by a phone call informing that my brother had passed away in an accident the previous night. My mom was shocked and she dint believe it. She went outside and checked the bed, " it was empty".This was something that baffled us for a long time . Do people live even after their deaths?? Somewhere in my mind, I know that he was reminded of our home even after he died.
The biggest shock came after his death. We came to know that he was pitch drunk when his bike hit on a stationary bus and it was difficult to pull out his body from it. The person we knew never drank and this was not possible. All the respect that I had for him dipped when I realized how much people around me were hurt when they came to know of all the facts about his life.
So, before we do anything in our life, ask a lot of questions. If we are going to do something that cannot be shared with our loved ones, that requires lot of lies to cover up, don't proceed. Stop right there!! I have seen a family wither away in front of my eyes. Its not a great feeling.
And all those people out there, who drink and drive: its not daring but utter foolishness. If you don't value your life, you are insane. Unfortunately there are others who value your life, think about them. You are not forever dauntless; you are not unbeatable; you are just a human being. So be HUMAN!!
