The Wretched Day-7

I was relieved to spot my mom gesturing from one of the platforms and reached her, panting. She shot a furious look which  I didn't acknowledge. (The best way to escape a mother's wrath is, to pretend that nothing happened) 

"Thank god. I came on time", I breathed out; but no response from her side. I paused. "It is quarter to nine now", I tapped on the dial and rolled my eyes (intentionally dramatic) to seek her attention. 

"Did you lock the door?", she fumed. It sounded alarmingly cold. "No, dad asked me not to", I replied replicating her tone.

It was just ten minutes to nine. As we stood cocking, I spotted the bus slowing down to a halt with the usually irritating whistle of the conductor. 

To my surprise, there was no crowd to push my way through boarding. There was no one to fling towels or cloth bags through the windows to reserve seats; only a handful of passengers trudged past due to the day long exhaustion— Some daily wages, returning home after a laborious day with worry free faces; college students, with their almost empty bags, awry; and some random commuters of various agegroups who possessed no obvious identity. 

After all of them, I too got on the bus grabbing my mom's bigshopper. The flasks and cutleries inside, clinked as I kept it down. The bigshopper was filled to its brim with stuff that I didn't bother to examine. I quickly sat on the first two-seater's window seat and scooted over which my mom followed suit. 

Mom was visibly hurt and was sulking because of my unruly and cold response when she had called me to inform the emergency. It pressed me harder. I just looked away through the window. 

It was comforting—The cold breeze, dimly lit abandoned roads stretching endlessly, stray dogs wagging their tails, people on cycles and motor vehicles, random vendors of various wares, etc., 

Finally, the chill wind which tousled  my stray hair strands, forced me to push shut the window.

Only then I noticed that my mom was grief stricken. Those momentary whims and fancies let me forget my grandma altogether. I grew agitated too. Tried consoling my mom but it was in vain. 

She was...

(To be continued...)