SixPens Tale- 3

“I’m so happy to see you!”

“Where were you all these days?” continued Ben after Tom didn't answer. “I searched all over for you.”

Tom looked away recalling those events. The day it all had happened.

Then, Tom quickly hugged his friend. Ben could not stop his tears -the tears of joy and happiness. Days of love and laughter flashed in front of his teary eyes.

After a while, there was silence.

Ben still remembered that one day. It was a cold winter day. He was driving to attend a family gathering. It had been a long drive, but his presence was worth it. There were good memories of childhood.

At the bend, he was riding his bicycle, whistling along when suddenly his bicycle seemed to lose control. Ten seconds later, he was looking up at a car that was wildly racing towards him. Tom instantly came to his rescue after seeing Ben heading towards the car. He pedalled faster and pushed Ben to the other side. Ben managed to jump off his bike; his bike hit a tree. Tom ran to his aid, and he called 911. Rushing towards Ben who fell on the ground, losing consciousness. Tom tried to assess Ben's head while waiting for help to arrive.

At the hospital, Ben regained consciousness. He opened his eyes on a bright morning full of unfamiliar people. Tom was nowhere to be seen.

Coming back to the present, Ben assessed Tom who was still quiet and was shivered by the incident.

Finally, Tom said, "I couldn't bear to see you in pain then.”

Tom went on to narrate how he had chased the car that almost hit Ben and ran away.

"Watching you lifeless on that hospital bed, I couldn't wait for the police to do their job. So I did my own investigation," Tom said.

"Did you succeed?" Ben asked.

Tom shook his head. "I visited the station. It turned out that the car was stolen and the driver was a fugitive.” He paused.

Moments later, as if realizing his rudeness, he asked Ben, "How are you feeling, by the way, Ben?"

"I was terrified! But now that you are here, I feel better."

Tom smiled at his best friend thinking, 'if only he had known the real reason why the driver had almost killed him...' Tom knew that the truth had to wait for another day. But for now, all he could do was be there for Ben and hope that he could save him from his fate before it's too late.

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Contributed by:

Ruchika Parmar, Janaki Nagaraj, Sangeeta Shah, Dodong Ener, Swati Jain, Neetika Sood Olinda Braganza, Zarteina Antao, Charu Varun Sood, Kajal Kapur, Rham Dhel