Stratford park was half an hour’s drive away and it was still just 1:00 o’clock…He had plenty of time…He was thinking maybe he should grab a coffee from 7-11, but decided it might make him pee…As Salim was weaving through the traffic a million thoughts were going through his mind…What would she be like in person? Would she be tall? Short? Thin? Fat? Deformed? After all, you can’t tell much from a passport photo…But then he thought about about the way she was, the things she said, and her spirit, and he swore at that moment, however she was, she was to be his…
Sana was slow in getting ready…Everything she was doing was like weighted down with load…She was dreading going and was cursing herself for ever allowing herself to be in this position, yet the promise had been made…The only thing that kept her going was the thought of putting it all behind her quickly so they both can get on with their lives…
Salim revved up his bike even more doing 55 in a 35 mph zone…He just prayed there were no cops around…They would spoil everything and he wanted to be there before Sana…Once again he did a mental checkup of everything…Shirt, wallet, cologne, pants, zipper…Zipper? Did he close it? He glanced down for an instant and saw the zipper open…Crap…He took his left hand of the handle and tried to zip up, but it wouldn’t work…He looked down to see what was keeping the zipper from closing shut…It was his shirt…He tucked it in and looked up again, just to see an 18 wheeler backing out of a grocery store backlot…Salim slammed on the brakes…
Sana just arrived at the Starford park…It was 2:15…She sat in her van thinking what she was doing…She decided to get it over with so she started to get out of the van for the promised guppie meet…
Salim’s bike had started skidding sideways…Salim decided the best option was to let go of the bike and slide under the truck…Salim did that, however too late…The undercarriage of the 18 wheeler hit Salim squarely on the side of the head and Salim was dead before his body hit the road…
Sana had always been extremely shy, but today she was petrified…She had waited an hour, then hour and a half…It was now 3:45 and Salim hadn’t shown up, and her shyness kept raising many questions in her mind…“He didn’t like what he saw…He must have come early, hidden himself and seen her and didn’t like her up front and then left…He will now probably never want to see me again, even on Gupshup…Perhaps he will change his nick and become a multinick and never come back as Mason for fear of running into me…”
She felt a tear roll down her cheek…Funny…She wasn’t even crying, she was just sad…She smiled…As she looked at her shriveled, useless legs and turned her wheelchair to go back to her handicap van, she wondered, what nick would Salim come on Gupshup as now?
