The Road Trip

By Dr. Pratik Pravin Bhat

We went for a road trip

To that temple

In that hidden location

You prayed to the deity

You made an atheist pray too

How love changes people

I got your habits

You got mine, too

There was a stream

Into which we buried our feet

As the clear water flowed

Our feet touched each other’s

As we exited the temple

Onto the road

You started melting into me

Like ice, not snow

You kept going on

Touching me in places

Unknown

Giving me all those sensations

That made my eyes close

I forgot that I was driving

I missed a turn at the hairpin bend

Our car went off the cliff

Into the air

I was still content

We looked at each other

Laughed

As gravity defied everything

We felt funny

We tried to kiss

In the air

We knew we wouldn’t make it

We let our kiss

Make it worth it

We crashed

Together

Maybe being with each other

Made the pain

Bearable

I woke up in a hospital bed

I had multiple fractures and had lost an arm

I tried to see you

But the nurse saw me

Moving

Told me swiftly

To not search

You were dead

Succumbed

Even though I was alive

I felt dead

Inside.

By Dr. Pratik Pravin Bhat