Chaitanyamoi Chetia
St. Joseph’s High School, Moranhat

It was springtime, and the flowers were in full bloom. Bibek’s annual examination came to an end, and he was now free from worries and anxieties: like other days, he need not have to cling to books now. He requested his mother to go to a beautiful place nearby, but his mother replied in the negative. She told him that a few months ago, they took him to Chabua, a small tea city in upper Assam. Though he did not give much heed to his mother’s sayings all the time, he nodded, showing he is listening.

One fact made him feel proud when he was told that Academy Award Actress Julie Christie was born in Chabua in India when it was under British rule. His father had the habit of saying this.

One morning, Bibek visited his best friend, Samit’s bungalow during the springtime for a day’s stay. Flowers were in full bloom in the front garden. Honey bees were buzzing here and there; butterflies were also seen flying everywhere; their presence had made the flower garden more beautiful. Seeing the bees, Bibek wondered in his mind, is there a beehive at home! He stood amid the full bloom flowers, and gazing at the honeybees coming to collect nectar and pollens from every flower made him feel ecstatic.

Samit asked him to come to the front veranda to drink a glass of milk and snacks. While leaving the flower garden, the bees were moving in the swarm. Bibek thought of annoying the busy bees by spraying the hand sanitizer he had in his pocket; he sprayed and immediately ran towards the veranda steps. As soon as he sat down, he cried out in pain.

Samit was shocked and shouted, “What happened!”

He did not receive any reply as Bibek was in deep pain. Samit looked down and saw a bee was falling on to the floor. He understood that a bee must have stung Bibek.

Samit was clueless about what to do. However, without delaying, he fetched some ice cubes and applied them on the sting sites of the hand. Rubbing the ice cubes made him feel relaxed. Samit told Bibek to relax for a while in his bed.

That afternoon Samit was reading a newspaper, and he saw that a new movie has released. He quickly came near Bibek and discussed if they should watch the movie in the cinema hall. Bibek replied in the affirmative. After a few hours, Samit asked his mother to tell the chauffeur to take both of them outside.

Samit’s mother happily replied, “Of course, go and enjoy.”

The car came. They took their rear seat and set out. The car moved on through the alley of the lush green tea garden. Samit asked the chauffeur to take the car fast as the movie was going to start soon. They finally reached on time. But Samit’s mother did not know where they were going, as the movie was not meant for kids and was full of violence.

It was sunset, and the movie ended. Samit was in deep thought about the course of the movie. The chauffeur was about to accelerate the speed of the car; just then, Samit suddenly asked the chauffeur to stop the vehicle. The chauffeur and Bibek were shocked. The chauffeur, having heard the order, instantly stopped the car with a short break.

“What happened?” the chauffeur asked.

“I want to drive the car myself,” replied Samit.

The chauffeur explained that he is a small boy and ineligible.

Samit angrily replied, “It’s my order; just give me the key and go to the rear seat, or else I would send you out of the car.”

Now the chauffeur was deeply confused and perplexed as to what to do. As he had been thinking about all these things, Samit opened the door, pushed him out of the car, locked the doors and started driving.

Bibek pointed for not driving the car.

Samit said, “Bibek, driving is fun; you do not worry.”

“But if your parents happened to know that you are driving on the high way, they will surely punish you,” replied Bibek.

Samit replied happily, “How will they know? If you think that the chauffeur would report or complain about it, then forget about it, he will not, for he feared my parents very much.”

Bibek thought deeply about what to do now. After a few seconds, he got an idea. He took his mobile and copied the chauffeur’s phone number written on the rear glass of the car. He quickly messaged the chauffeur.

Samit accelerated the car’s speed. Bibek’s heartbeat increased with fear, lest Samit might dash the car somewhere. But the chauffeur had been running and following the car, and due to the rush of numerous vehicles on the highway, he could not hear the alarming tone of the message.

Bibek had been noticing that the chauffeur was following them. Now he gave a missed call to the chauffeur, and thankfully, the chauffeur opened his mobile and checked and read out the message. The message read thus: “I am Bibek, Samit’s friend. You do what I am saying. You take your phone near to your ear for a minute. I am sure Samit will stop the car.”

The chauffeur was pretty confused, but he took his phone near his ear. And now Bibek quickly shouted near Samit’s ear, “Samit look, the chauffeur is making a call through his phone to your parents.” Samit stopped the car immediately; he looked from the rear-view mirror. The chauffeur acted as if he were seriously making a call.

Samit tensely said, “Are you sure? Is he making a call to my parents?”

“Yes, he is making the call to your parents,” replied Bibek.

Samit quickly opened the car window and shouted to the chauffeur, “Chauffeur uncle, please do not make a call. You can drive the car now.”

The chauffeur was confused that Samit ceased to drive the car; he quickly ran to the car and reached the car’s steering. Samit descended and went to the rear seat and requested the chauffeur not to tell these things to his parents.

The chauffeur added, “Ok, but you have to promise me that you will not drive any car until you get your driving licence.”

Samit said that he just wanted to drive like the man in the movie. But now, he promised the chauffeur that he would drive only after he would get the driving license.

Bibek and Samit entered the bungalow and gossiped about the adventurous evening, and went to bed to sleep after taking their dinner together well that night. They went to bed to sleep and they concluded that they would never go to a cinema hall to watch adult movies.

In the morning, they took their breakfast; Bibek was now ready to go home. He said, “You are my friend, and you shall remain my friend forever.”

Finally, Bibek commented, “In our next vacation, we shall watch Julie Christie’s acting in the popular film, Dr Zhivago.”

He continued, “I was told that it was a novel by Boris Pasternak and that this novel was made into a film which was released in the 1960s and 1970s of the last century.”

They both hugged each other. Samit called out, “Chauffeur uncle, take my friend safely in the car and drop him at his home.”

The gatekeeper opened the gate. Bibek entered inside the car, and the car went away slowly through the alley of the green tea bushes.