Omen

Shanmugam was driving the car; we certainly cannot call that fast. He is too old to take the risk of driving fast. Only young men and women get that thrill from fast driving. Old men only get heart attacks when they drive that fast.

Shanmugam, took that right turn slowly, even under the pressure of a sound horn from the bus that was coming closer to him. Most buses and cars take that route to reach the Mettupalayam Road on their way to Ooty. We cannot call that a congested road but at the same time, it does have a traffic that is on par with a busy road. But then, the road is not very broad and would not be more than forty feet.

Immediately after the turn, there was a speed breaker and Shanmugam slowed his car to a crawl. After coming down the speed breaker, he picked up speed and would not have gone 20 meters. A dashing cat sprinted across from the his left side to the right.

All that hit Shanmugham was that it was a bad omen. A cat crossing from left to right in front of you, is certainly a bad omen, he thought. In a second, he had decided. He should allow the others to go forward and cross first the place where the cat ran across. Then, the omen will not have the impact on him.

He stopped is car and wanted to allow the vehicles behind him to go first. But to his dismay, the bus that was also picking up speed could not stop at the nick of the moment. Shanmugham felt a strong impact from the bus in the rear of his car. It appeared as if his head had sheared from its base at the neck. At the same time, his head moved forward and found its mark on the steering wheel.

He fell unconscious.

When he woke up, he was in the hospital. Doctor was talking to his wife. He could sense a bandage on his head. And then, there was the neck support to hold his neck. He looked around.

'Ha, he has opened his eyes! I told you so!' said the doctor. 'He will be alright. There is nothing to worry. He had a minor knock on his head which sent him unconscious. His neck is hurt by the sudden crash. It will become alright in two to three weeks. He needs complete rest'.

He looked at Shanmugam and said. 'Sir, you need complete rest. The accident happened because you suddenly braked in the middle of the road and the bus driver could not stop. If one of you had been alert this could have been avoided'.

Shanmugam murmured. 'I know. It is all due to the cat. This accident is due to the bad omen. Even if you do not cross the place where the cat ran across, the bad omen has its impact'.