The Pothole

Little did I know that an unassuming day like yesterday evening could open up a whole new window in my mind; maybe a little less than a ‘eureka’ moment, but a little more than just ‘enlightenment’. It made me perceive the world in a new light through a new window. We look through our eyes and often assume we are seeing the whole world out there. We see things and we think things are as it is; that’s how little our small brains could comprehend.

It was just another regular Thursday evening. The roads were trying to dry themselves up after a heavy rain. I found myself an empty table and pulled up a chair in the ‘Central Perk’, our usual hangout spot. Three of us were supposed to meet up at 7pm and catch up on life. Bob was supposed to be riding his Harley Davidson straight from work and Dave was taking a train. As usual, I reached first and was waiting for the rest.

A pothole in the middle of the road caught my eyes. Anyone could miss it in a glance because it was filled with rainwater. The regular road users were seemed to be aware of the pothole and slowed down their vehicles or tried to avoid it altogether. I was interested to see whether the pothole will be successful in tricking anyone to run their vehicle over it.

I must have zoned out when an ear-splitting noise brought me back to my senses. The pothole managed to trick a young driver in his new BMW 5 series. He seemed to notice the pothole a tad too late and applied emergency brake. An unfortunate motorcycle hit the BMW from the rear and the rider was on the ground. He was wearing a helmet and was carrying a backpack so his head and back was protected. He didn’t lose consciousness and he could sit up immediately post fall. There was no blood anywhere and no one seemed to be hurt. Within seconds a huge crowd gathered and surrounded the scene eventually blocking my vision of the scene.

The pothole got its victim but technically the driver did not run over the pothole. He managed to stop in time but the sudden deceleration caused an accident. Anyhow, I was convinced that the pothole was just sitting there waiting to cause a potentially hazardous situation. if the pothole was fixed earlier, this whole scene could have been avoided and those two strangers may never have crossed path in their life.

Bob entered the parking lot accompanied by the loud roar from his bike.

“These young generations and their over attachment to their phones is still a puzzle to me! It is becoming an addiction. Serves him right! Now he has to answer his dad for the dent at the back!” Bob let out his frustration while pulling up a chair opposite me.

I was confused. I had a sense that he was referring to the accident that had just happened as he would have gotten a good view of the entire event. But I was clueless as to why he was blaming the young chap.

“The potholes were covered with rain water. Anyone could have missed it if they were not aware of it. Maybe he realised it too late and tried to slow down; or maybe the motorcycle rider could have maintained a safe distance.” I didn’t know why I was trying to defend the young BMW driver. I thought he didn’t deserve to get all the blame.

“That brainless guy was ‘Tik-tok’ ing while driving! I was right there. If he had not done that, he would have taken notice of that pothole way earlier and that poor motorcycle rider would not have hit the back of the car. Do you seriously think that everyone who has driven by before him knew beforehand that the pothole was there?” Bob had a good point. Maybe the other drivers could see the pothole earlier and managed to slow down their vehicle accordingly to avoid any calamity.

I did not know that the young driver was using his phone while driving. He was old enough to get his driving license so he should have been more responsible on the road. Suddenly I didn’t feel like defending him anymore. I was surprised at how one small piece of information could make me change my opinion in a snap. How true it is that opinion is usually something which people have when they lack comprehensive information.

I saw Dave walking into the café with his raincoat still on. He pulled up his chair and sat down. It was very evident that his face was fuming and he was gasping for air as though he had just crossed the finish line in a sprint race.

“Are you alright there Dave?” Bob asked.

Dave tried to answer but his speech muscles took a backseat and his respiratory muscles were working overtime to restore his oxygen to the lungs. We knew we had to give him enough time to settle down before we could get anything out from his mouth.

“Karma is a dish best served cold, don’t you guys think?” Dave quizzed.

We were expecting him to explain himself as to why he was hyperventilating but he chose to open with a confusing rhetorical question.

“You guys would not believe what just happened! I was walking here from the train station and a guy snatched my laptop bag and took off in his motorcycle. I chased after him for a good half a kilometre. Just as I thought of giving up, he rammed into the back of a BMW while trying to escape and fell down. I managed to catch up and took back my laptop bag. Thank god man. I can’t imagine losing my laptop; all my raw footage for my short film is in it and I don’t even have a backup copy.”

Bob and I exchanged gaze. Another piece of information and now I was thankful that the whole event happened.