It had been a month since I had got my license, and I was exhilarated with my newfound freedom. A sheer contrast from the crippling phase, I had become accustomed to in the last few months.
Being without car translated as being grounded for life, and soon after I got my license, the car came along.
The only con about having my own car, was my wife's longer and more frequent shopping sprees. An obsession that I was not yet able to comprehend.
We had a wedding in the family that month and my wife had gone with the kids, a week before to join in the fun and frolic of the festivities.
Being an introvert, and having no to little desire for frivolous rituals and shallow communications, I had backed out.
I knew I couldn't stay off the wedding, and a day before the wedding the wife called in with all her emotional tirade and a checklist of threats. So, I decided to attend the wedding and return back the same night as I had an extremely important meeting to attend. I may sound like a workaholic, but the reality is very far from it. It was my new job, and i could not risk it for anything in the world.
The wedding didn't turn half as bad as I had expected, I had the company my phone and some familiar faces. I had a feast of a dinner and went to give my much called for blessings to the couple.
And decided to head out after giving my hurried salaams to everyone there. It was past mid night and I was beginning to fret. The flow of traffic was still steady, and I was half exhausted by the wedding celebrations and half stressed about the meeting.
When, I was three fourth of my way home, I was blinded by a fog so thick that embraced my car and everything else in a tight grip. I could see nothing, infront of me. My heart was throbbing maniacally and I become acutely aware of my slow reflexes. And just then, I heard the booming voice of my instructor, forming into the chilly air, informing us about the dire consequences of a new driver, choosing to drive in thick fog. But again, where do I stop and the home is just a few kilometres away.
The fog had affected my mind and I wasn't able to choose rationally. Pictures of last year's fog crashes flashed in my mind. They were followed quickly with future images of my orphaned children. And the last was the thundering sound of my boss, If didn't make it to the meeting on time with my presentation, which I still had to fine tune.
The mind has an interesting ability of conjuring ugly images in the most dense of situations.
That's when I took the most irrational decision of my life and carried on.
I didn't change lanes unnecessarily,maintained safe distance and prayed fervently to reach home alive.
What would have taken me minutes to reach took me two and a half hours, but I was home safe and sound with Allah's mercy. And though cocooned in my safe blanket, I was still shivering, and lamenting over people's poor choice of using the hazard light while driving in the fog.
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