Hello, Hiver friends. I hope you all had a good day today. This post is my entry to weekly featured content in the #Hivelearners community. The topic is to write about the risk we take in our life and the accidents we endure can stick with us, even making us shiver when we remember them.
An accident that still comes to mind even now:
Today's post is related to a memorable accident that occurred in 2010. I was in the midst of my intermediate exams, and that day we had a Mathematics paper.
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It was an intensely hot Friday. My exam was scheduled to take place after Friday prayers for the second time. The exam center was about half an hour away from my house. At that time, I had a motorbike, but I wasn't allowed to ride it due to my young age. So, I thought of traveling to the center in a 6-seater rickshaw.
Due to the intense heat, I wore light clothes and sandals. I carried my roll number slip and some stationary with me.
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As I approached the rickshaw stand near my house, I waved to stop one. The previous three seats were occupied, and there was a heavily built woman sitting on the front seat. Since she was older than me, I sat on her right side without any hesitation. The rickshaw started, and I noticed that the driver was recklessly overtaking vehicles and driving at a high speed. I felt a sense of fear in my heart, but I prayed to God and tried to divert my mind. Just as we were about to reach a certain point, a pothole appeared on the road, and the rickshaw driver tried to avoid it by suddenly turning to the right at a high speed. Due to this, the rickshaw lost control and skidded along the road for quite some distance. I tried very hard to save myself, but due to the overweight woman and falling on my side, I couldn't completely save myself, and my right side feet ended up outside the rickshaw, scraping against the road along with the rickshaw. I suffered a deep wound on my feet. Due to the intense pain, my blood pressure dropped, and I felt like my time had come. It took quite some time for someone to come and straighten the rickshaw. Eventually, two people on a motorcycle came towards us and helped. They straightened the rickshaw. I gathered my courage and managed to stand up, leaning against the stairs of a nearby shop. The pain was getting unbearable, and I started to feel faint. The worst part was that the rickshaw driver, instead of helping, sat back in his rickshaw and sped away. After a while, the woman came back towards me. She seemed to be slightly hurt. She politely asked me where I lived and offered to take me home since it was nearby. I declined her offer and asked her to just help me get to my house somehow. She stopped a rickshaw and instructed the driver to take me to my house. Reluctantly, I got into another rickshaw. I tried to explain the way to the driver, and he managed to bring me to the gate of my house. When my little brother heard the doorbell, he was surprised to see me back home so quickly, as the exams hadn't even started yet. I went inside, and my mother was shocked to see me in such a state. She immediately laid me down on the bed. One of my sandals had been torn on the road during the accident, while the other foot was still shod. I told my mom about the rickshaw driver waiting outside and asked her to pay him. Unfortunately, the rickshaw driver took advantage of the situation and charged us double the normal fare due to the urgency of the situation. Fortunately, there's a doctor living in our street. My mom sent my brother to fetch him, and he also brought some ointment and bandages. My condition was quite bad due to the pain. After a while, the doctor arrived and suggested giving me a tetanus shot. I hesitated because I was already in a lot of pain. He then prescribed some medication, applied ointment, and left.
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I was bedridden for about 6 months. The doctor visited almost every day and treated the wound with ointment. Even today, there's a scar from that injury on my foot. It was a tough time. Before the accident, I was quite weak, but after six months of bed rest and care, I regained my health. After a few months, I took my Math exam again as a supplementary paper. During this time, I also attended practical sessions at the exam center, coming in just to mark my attendance. Even now, whenever I get into a rickshaw, I remember those difficult times.
Indeed, I have learned from this experience:
When someone is driving recklessly, advise them to drive carefully. If they don't listen, it's best to exit the vehicle.
This was my sad story. I hope you liked it. If you have also experienced such an accident, please do share it in the comments.
Thanks for reading my post.
Read my previous blogs:
@jahanzaibanjum/taking-strides-through-the-ibn
