Life and Lies of M R Maiti

  “We should have booked a four-wheeler for today,” suggests Ajay, taking a break from kick-starting his bike. Sooner or later, the wisdom of hindsight comes to all of us. And right now, it pours out of my friend, only to be frozen mid-air. Just like me, he is covered from head to toe in multiple layers. There is no one in sight except the two of us and the occasional vehicles passing by, halting at the sight of our thumbs out, only to refuse to give us a ride. “Maybe, we should chuck it and chill in Lachen itself.” NO. The voice in my head shouts then takes a moment to think, dials it down to a pleading voice: No no no. This can’t happen. We are not far from the homestay we had stayed last night. I find some comfort in that as Ajay now has to roll it downhill back to where we had begun in the morning. The owner’s daughter smiles at us from the balcony when we reach the homestay. She is a good company but right now I need to be someplace else. After all, we had come all the