Part I

Part II


"Can I have a drag or may be an extra cigarette you got", I asked.
"Sure", she said with the live cigarette clutched under the lips as her hands went searching for the packet of death rolls in the bag she was holding.
"Here you go", she said while putting the lit on as I sucked the first puff of a new roll.
Though I too saw the visual of tar clinging on my lungs but as I took the first drag the visuals slowly vanished in my mind like smoke in the air.
I quickly took another drag and realised that whatever I was thinking few minutes back was nothing more than bull shit and here lies the life full of pleasures, between my fingers.
"Want a joint?"
Her voice broke my euphoria.
"Sure as hell", I said.
"We can't prepare here"
"Let's get off the next stop"
A Little smile came to our face when we looked at the bus conductor's expression after getting off the bus three stops before the actual stop we paid for. Our eyes went searching for a nice, silent and lone place to actually prepare an illegal stuff we were holding.
"You keep looking around while I prepare", she said. I nodded. But soon realized I couldn't let my eyes of her. She neatly tore apart two cigarettes and pull all the tobacco in my palm. Then she took two match stick with a small clayish ball held to the flamesh part of the stick. She took out the lighter and burn the ball for few seconds and then crushed the ball into small pieces over tobacco. She looked experienced. The mixture is taken from me soon. Few of the particles get stucked into the hands as if they were saying not to smoke us. I tried to rub my palms to get the remains of tobacco and put it on the bundle which was now in her hand. She neatly took out a rizla paper, a filter was set at the bottom of the paper as she started pouring the mixture in it. Finally we had a joint prepared. Just a three inches tall, had such powers inside it, can't just imagine.
"Initiate", she said to me.
Without wasting any more time I took the joint, put into my mouth. She lit with her lighter and smiled.
The first drag was cool. It gave the hint of herbs inside my mouth. It felt as if I'm doing a bonefire in the middle of jungles and that scent of trees with wet soil you get. I took another drag before passing the joint to her. She was still smiling. Her smile soon faded away with a look of desperation as she took a deep puff inside her.
We didn't talk for next fifteen minutes. And the joint finally started talking.
"Goooood stuff", I said.
"Yea, can imagine from your eyes", she witted.
I put on her black aviator which was resting by my side. She laughed which ended in a cough.
"Famished as hell. You wanna eat something", I asked.
She started laughing aloud and coughing hard. I put off the aviator in a hope that she would stop laughing. My naked yet influenced eyes saw a rainbow on the road.
"What is this rainbow doing on the road? Who threw it down", I asked while scratching my head.
She was still laughing. The trees nearby started laughing too but they were not coughing like her. The flashy green leaves seemed as if someone just washed them. The nature around us seemed so sparkling as if I was watching a lucid dream. I wanted to ask her if this seemed only to me. I looked around but she was no there. I was still hearing her laughs but she was out of my sight. The rainbow had gone too. Instead there was this lizard. A big lizard on the road. The big lizard was crossing the road slowly. I looked around if some heavy vehicle is coming. That could be dangerous to lizard. I was worried untill I heard her voice.
"Come here you"
"Well, O.K but ....where the hell are you!", I inquired
The laughing started again. This time the bench was laughing too, with the trees. I looked around and finally I could see her waving hands to me. I signaled her that I'm coming. She was still waving.
"You disappeared! How have you been?", I asked.
"I just met that bus conductor, he came to refund our money", she said. Her voice blur.
"You are high", I said as I laughed,"And I'm hungry"
"I just saw subway across the road. Hey, see, see its moving. Let's go", she said excitingly and started running  . I grabbed her arm.
"Wait....wait....Its written on the bus and the bus is moving", I clarified. "But I think a market is back there. Let's go"
Some kind of waves were floating all over my face and going into the head and coming back to the face and settling at somewhere in the back of my eyes. Eyes felt heavy. I knew we both were high. But hungry too.
"Hold my hand and be careful while crossing the road. Lizards are out there", I warned. She laughed.
We crossed the road.
"Look, there is the place", I said signalling forward and a little above our heights.
"Nahhhhh, they are giving joints, we already had one", she replied with her eyes closed and face tired.
"Its a Food Joint", I said ....'Food' in a high tone.
She didn't bother. I went to the food joint and ordered couple of burgers and a large coke. Why is it when you don't have any change in your pocket and the bill comes in an un-round off value. As I was high so I didn't bother. Though it felt like giving tip while on a self-service. As I took the plate and turn around, i saw a huge crowd close to the road. As I was high so i didn't bother. I feel like the best part of being high is that you just don't bother. I look around for my accompanier, that girl for whom I wasted my bus ticket, moreover my time, my money, my body and my lungs. But most importantly i was feeling like heaven. She was out of my sight, again. I again forgot to ask her name. I looked around but she was not there. After few minutes of intoxicated-eye searching, i heard a voice from the crowd.
"Is she drunk"
"This seemed to be a suicide"
"There is no note"

A ran into the crowd and saw a body lying on the road. The body was upside down. That black jean and that blue top were the same color combinations she was wearing. I was in doubt. I wanted to see the face. I looked into the crowd. After couple of minutes I saw her standing right in front of me as a part of the crowd. I felt a sigh of relief. I closed my eyes and thanked to god. She was smiling while looking at me. Then I realized that i'm seeing her face in everybody's face. I turn around and she was everywhere, smiling like she ate both burgers and i'll die famished. Then I heard someone saying that the vehicle which hit her just ran away.
The traffic police approached few minutes later following an ambulance. They declared her dead. I had her burger in my hand. And a half coke. As they turn around the body I saw her vanished into the crowd and rather laid over the dead body. The face was as fresh as hour ago when she was preparing the joint for us.

The police were trying to get in touch of someone who knew her. They opened her purse with a motive to search some clues about her. A packet with black clay came out as if it wanted to fly away to someone else. I suddenly forgot about the demise and wanted to get hold of that clay. Though i realized that this is thing which made me holding those burgers while she died. This was the power of herbs.

I curse myself of stepping back from the crowd that day. I ate the burgers alone with teary eyes. I threw away the coke though. And went back to my house and pretend nothing happened. I never knew this thing would change my entire life.



To be continued.........