Runnnn…
I woke up to a very bad headache. The air had already smelt morning and cooler when my eyes finally gave up around 3. Till then some mosquitoes became a victim of my lividness. I feel bad for them but they did deserve it for the ‘Kun Faya Kun’ they kept murmuring.
Ive been becoming more aggressive. This whole lockdown and quarantine are fucking things up for me. Also, theres already so much tension build up in the family. I just hope, come more days, we won`t swordplay each other with spoons.
I hoped a shower and a nice cup of tea will heal the stuffiness but I didnt feel the slightest boost. Its been 2 days since I smoked the last pipe of the cigarette I had. I dont know how I managed to suppress the urge for the two days but I cant run longer. I have to go out and buy some packs. But with corona on the air, we could step out of the house only for “emergency needs.” I don`t think cigarettes would fall under “emergency” according to the police. They are almost in every corner to minimize the number of people on the streets. But the shops are around 15 to 20 mins walking distance and I needed someone, a friend to go with.
Luckily, I have a friend living 2 houses down. Bishal, he is one of those friends who are called with their surname. I dialed him,
Ring…ring..ring…
“Hello,” he answers.
“Chhetri, what you doing?”
“Not much.”
“I need your help, come here.”
Some minutes later he arrives. I told him were about to break the law and hes like “You son of a bitch, Im in.” I grabbed some money and two plastic guns too, the ones for the kids to play, dont ask me why. We peeked outside and didnt see any guards loitering around. It was the perfect time for our maneuver to begin. We walked along the side of the road through the culvert hoping wed go unseen.
Soon after a couple of minutes, “Look a policeman is coming this way” and we sprinted inside the nearest house. He didnt see us. And no, there wasnt a dog waiting for us for more drama like in the movies. Thank lord. We were really scared because if any of the policemen caught us we`d be whacked. As we were walking we kept rotating our heads for the 360* view and rushed our way up. Repeating it a couple of times we finally reached the shop.
I asked the tall guy on the counter for four packs of cigarettes. I realized my money could cover another pack and asked him to add one more. As he was handling me packs of cigarettes I was already smoking them in my head. Everything was perfect. The big smile on Chhetri`s face said: “We did it, man.”
“Them?” I heard a hoarse voice and looked back. He was a policeman. He was waiting inside the shop for guys like us to beat the shit out of and that motherfucker bamboo, he sold us out. I dont know how I got the courage but I actually pointed my finger at him and said, “Where is your mask?” His eyes, his eyes were telling “Im gonna eat you two bitches, alive.”
I turned to my friend and shouted, “Runnnnnn.” We ran. We ran our legs off. And the policeman, right behind us trying to catch up. I didn`t know when he called for backup but soon there were 2 new faces following us. As we were running my friend shouts,
“Did you try the free pornhub premium?”
I couldnt believe it. I go, “The fuck is wrong with you. No, I havent.”
“What? I`m just trying to establish a conversation. But why?”
Again, astounded. I say “Im on no fap. Im avoiding porn for some time.”
“Aah man you have to use it when its free. After corona, its all gone.”
“Okayyyyy.”
“Those fuckers…I think they are going to catch us soon. They are closing in.” I gasped.
As we were running we could see a big star at the end of the road, on the turning. I wondered where the hell did that come from and pointed it to him, “What is that star?”
We`re frightened. We were sure things are going to get worse. And he shouts, “What should we do?”
“I don`t know. Should we show them the guns we brought? That might keep them back a further distance.”
He says, “But we havent brought the bullets man, theyre of no use.”
“What? What? Why?” I explode. I wanted to hit him on the head for acting dumbass. “Why are you being a jackass? They have a real gun. Bullets or not, it doesnt matter, its a fucking plastic gun. You cant do shit with this. Dont lag, keep running.”
We took out the gun, held it above our head so that they could see. They deaccelerated and our plan worked. I shouted to my friend, “Hey look, I think we`ll lose them soon.” And as I said that we heard a big buzzing noise. I also felt wind hitting on our back and the air was mudded. The only thing I could see was three big glowing stars, again at the end of the road, on the turning. Out of nowhere, a helicopter appeared right above us. We resonated, “Woah! What the fuckkkk?” “Is this a bloody video game?”
I ask Chhetri, “ Hey, do you have a lighter?”
“No. What? Do you want to sit and light up a cigarette now? Are you out of your goddamn mind?”
“Yeahhhhhh, I don`t think we are going to get out of this alive. So, might as well strip off the parch and go down euphoric.”
Something hit me on my hand, I just felt a pinch, might be a rubber gun they shot from the helicopter. I hit a rock and fell on the ground. My eyes are still open but theres a blackout. I cant see, its dark. The buzzing continues. And a minute later I realize I`m on the floor beside my bed and a mosquito flying around. I felt the mosquito bite on my hand. As I turn to the watch it’s 4:30 in the am. I felt sweaty.
“Me and my dreams. Huh,” I smirked and went back to sleep.
