Ten past ten. I rush through the doors of the mall. Most of the shops have closed. The huge mall is now in half darkness as the last of the shoppers trickle out. Out on the street the humidity hits hard. With bags in hand I join in the hustle for a cab. But I had little hope, I live in that corner of the city where cab drivers refuse to tread. The very first syllable of the name is greeted with vigorous refusals. As I stood there wondering what to do, a cab driver walks up to me and offers to take me for extra 10 bucks. I wondered for a second, how did he know where I wanted to go? But I pushed the thought away, at this hour this was the best offer that could come along. I got into the cab. The driver gave his buddies a nod and said ‘I’m off’, the buddies nodded back with a sly grin, seemed like a secret message was conveyed. I got in. The moment I shut the door I got a strange stench, I couldn’t quite place it and was too tired to think about it. The car sped on. I leaned back and closed my eyes; the calf muscles had started protesting, felt good to sit down.
After resting for a couple of minutes I sat up. And saw the car speeding through a fairly deserted road. It was not an unfamiliar road I had passed through it several times but at this hour, alone in a cab, I felt a bit jittery. I tried to look as if I was totally confident about the route while in my mind I tried desperately to recall the exact route I had taken earlier. In all honesty I am very bad with directions and am often literally ‘taken for a ride’ by cabbies…but today the fear went deeper than a couple of extra bucks. I pulled down the window and felt the cool breeze, tried to calm down. I saw the yellow and black road barrier racing with us, a poisonous viper chasing us across the black sand desert. I looked back inside, the tattered seatbelt which no one used, the threadbare seats with its insides spilling out…and that stench. It suddenly struck me it was the stench of a slaughterhouse…and none was in sight. The fear returned. I tried to get a look of the driver, to read him, but only his yellowed eyes peered through the rear view mirror. I tried to look unabashed while a thousand situations played in my mind. I felt fairly confident that I could fight him, owing to those few karate classes. Then I wondered, was it really confidence or a false sense of security? As these thoughts raced across my mind, the cab turned sharply and we found ourselves on the main road again. Phew!
Quarter to eleven. At this hour even the main road was not as busy as usual. Had the roads been always this yellow? Everything looked strange and alien. I couldn’t relax yet…having recognized the stench, I just couldn’t. Perhaps there was a perfectly logical explanation for it, but the whole atmosphere was set to bring out my dark imagination. I started giving directions, finally feeling sure…being close to home now. The cab halted before my door and I started gathering my bags, holding my breath. I got off and paid the fare. I tipped him ten bucks extra than what he asked for. He grinned, his yellow teeth glowing in the yellow light. And as I walked towards my door, relieved at finally being home and out of that stinking cab...I began to laugh…feeling stupid for the thoughts in my head. It’s funny how situations affect our thoughts. Just before entering I glanced over at the taxi which was pulling away. I almost raised my hand to wave but froze. Through the half closed bonnet of the car I saw a blood stained gurney bag peeping out. I tried to scream but by then the taxi had turned the corner, and the driver suddenly turned and looked straight at me. He bore that same yellow grin more sinister somehow; a chill ran down my spine. He shot me a salute and drove off. I stood there shocked and terrified…my mind went blank and my knees buckled under my weight. Only one thought played over and over in my mind…the stench…the slaughterhouse travelled with me…and he now knew where I lived…
