The Three Night Passengers
Kane is a taxi driver, who drives taxi to earn for his family’s living, at the city far from his village home, where resides his wife and his son”.
“It was the night of Christmas Eve, and everyone was preparing and decorating and buying gifts for their family to celebrate Christmas. Kane had also received message from his wife and son, to come home, to celebrate Christmas together. It has been weeks since Kane last went home. Kane was happy as he was going to meet his wife and son after a long time. But he was also very sad and disappointed, because he couldn’t buy any gift for his wife and son, due to his recent car failure which costed a lot of fortune to repair it and for which all his earning Is almost finished. The money he has left can only help him reach his home and feed his family for may be a week or two. But he still wishes to go home, with the mindset of, ‘ I’ll manage something…somehow ‘ “.
Kane was on his way home. While then he meets his first passenger of the night on his way home. It was the poor siblings ‘Henry & Diana’ “.
Henry : (shows hand i.e. signal to stop)
Kane : (stops and asks) Where do you want to go boy?
Diana : To our home, the slum at the southern end of the town.
Henry : Sorry to stop you, we don’t have any money. Our father is very ill and we have spent all the money we had to buy medicine for him.
Diana : Our father is very ill. He has high fever. So we came to buy medicine . Father doesn’t have any warm clothes. That is why he is ill.
Kane : Okay okay…i understand, hop in I was going towards that way only, I will give you a ride
Diana : Thank you.
Henry : Thank you very much sir, for giving us a lift, knowing we don’t have any money.
Kane : Don’t worry about it kids. Hop in quickly it’s too cold outside. You will have some warmth inside.
“As soon as the kids got inside, they continued their journey towards home”.
Diana : Are you going home Mister ?
Kane : Yes, I am going home to celebrate Christmas with my wife and son. My son is just about your age.
Henry : Did you buy present for him ?, What did you bought ? (Henry asked keenly).
Kane : Ugh (disappointedly). Nothing. You see…recently my car had a few problems. And fixing it took a lot of fortune.
Henry : Ooh…i see, Sorry.
Kane : Nah…it’s fine. I will just tell him i will buy him something later.
Henry : (Henry draws out a whistle out of his pocket and says) When I was about my sister’s age my father gave me this metal whistle, as a present. I don’t play with it anymore and my sister doesn’t like playing with it too. If you don’t mind, you can give this to your son as a present. I promise it is as good and clean as a new one.
Kane : Ooh no no no…i can’t take it, it’s yours. Your father gave it to you.
Henry : No please take it. It’s the least I can do for the favour you have done us tonight.
Kane : But.
Diana : Please take it uncle.
Kane : Alright.
Henry gives the whistle to Kane. Soon they reaches the end of the town. And the siblings are about to go back home.
Kane : Wait. You said about your dad not having any warm clothes. Come take my coat and give it to him.
Henry : No no, we can’t take that. You have already done enough for us, Thank you.
Kane : No no take it, it’s an order.
Henry : But if you give us your coat, you will catch cold yourself.
Kane : No no, it’s very warm inside the car isn’t it ?. Don’t worry about me i will be just fine, Take it.
Henry : Thank you much for what you have done for us today.
Diana : Thank you very much.
“Henry and Diana took the coat and started walking towards their home. And Kane continued his journey towards home. Not long, just after a few minutes of driving, Kane spots a car parked at the road side and an old man swinging his hands for help. Kane stops “.
Mr.Ben : Hello, I am Ben Harvey. My car has failed. And my driver was absent today, so I couldn’t fix my car. Can you please give me a ride to the city centre. There lies my home.
Kane : Oh Mr. Ben, the famous rich business man. Sir, I would be happy to help you but sir I am in a hurry towards my home at the village, and there’s not enough fuel in my car that I can return home after I drop you.
Mr. Ben : Why don’t you take fuel from my car. You do know how to transfer fuel, do you ?.
Kane : Yes sir, I surely know.
Mr. Ben : Well, let’s hurry then.
Kane : Okay sir.
“Kane fetched the fuel from Mr. Ben’s car and locks the car properly and then they starts moving back into the city, towards Mr. Ben’s home”.
Mr. Ben : Thank God, i found you my son else I would have frozen to death without any help.
Kane : No sir, Someone would have surely came to help you.
Mr. Ben : Donno, it’s hard to find some helping hands nowadays.
Kane : From where were you returning sir?
Mr. Ben : Ah…just business, to collect the due from a big client.
Kane : Ooh, is it so.
Mr. Ben : What about you? Young man . Where’s your home?, Do you have family?, How many kids you have?, You aren’t preparing for Christmas?.
Kane : Hahaha!, That’s a lot to answer. Yes sir, I was on my way towards my home at the village. I have already said that earlier.
Mr. Ben : You did ? Hah, I don’t remember.
Kane : Yeah I sure did. And I have a wife and a son. They live at the village home.
Mr. Ben : Ooh, is that so. And what did you buy for them.
Kane : Ugh (disappointed again). Nothing. Unfortunately, recently my car had a few problems and fixing it almost emptied my savings.
Mr. Ben : Ah, that’s so bad.
Kane : It’s fine, i will just tell them i will buy them something later. With the money I have left atleast they will get food for a week or more.
Mr. Ben : I see.
Kane : Well, I managed to get a whistle for my kid. I hope he likes it.
Mr. Ben : Yeah, he will certainly love it.
“Time flew while talking and they reached the destination that was Mr. Ben’s home.”
Mr. Ben : Looks like it’s time to say farewell.
Kane : Yeah, there’s your home right ahead.
Mr. Ben : It was nice to meet you young man.
Kane : It was nice to meet you too, sir.
“Kane stops the car infront of Mr. Ben’s home. The tires screeches, due to a little snow fall, which is very common during this season.”
Mr. Ben : Here.
Kane : (Surprised after looking) What is that?.
Mr. Ben : It’s your payment for saving my life and driving me home safely.
Kane : But that’s too much pay. The fare upto here is far less.
Mr. Ben : Ah, come on, Keep it as a blessing. I had a really good time with you.
Kane : Sir you really don’t have to do this. This is too much.
Mr. Ben : Keep it, that’s an order. Give this to your wife for home expenses and buy her something good.
Kane : I can’t thank you enough for this sir.
Mr. Ben : You don’t have to, Hahaha.
“And then they says farewell and once again Kane proceeds towards home.”
“Not long untill Kane finds a drunk man and a woman playing ‘tug of war’ with the man’s pocket. Then suddenly the drunk man pushes the woman to the floor. Kane quickly stops the car and approaches towards them. Watching Kane, the woman asked for help.
Kane : Hey, what’s the matter?, what is happening over here?.
The woman (Evelyn) : This man has my money, and he denies giving it to me.
The drunk man : (splittered) get lost, i don’t have any money; I won’t give you a single penny.
Kane : Listen sir, if you have this woman’s money kindly return it to her, please.
The drunk man : (splittered again) Who the fuck are you?, And who asked for your opinion?, Go fuck yourself.
Kane : Please return her money, this is a gentle request and may be my last warning.
The drunk man: Are you fucking challenging me?. You don’t listen do you, you need to be taught a lesson.
The drunk man tossed and flipped a few punches in the air towards Kane. He was moving clumsily and couldn’t even stand properly. It was an easy job for Kane. So Kane simply put him to sleep right there.”
Kane : (asked the woman) Who are you? Do you know him?.
The woman (replied) : Hello, Uhm, I am Evelyn, I don’t know this person, he was just a customer.
Kane : Customer?
Evelyn : Yeah, you see, I am a street walker.
Kane : Ooh.
“Kane starts moving back towards his taxi. Evelyn takes the money she owes from the drunk man’s pocket. Evelyn sees Kane leaving and asks him,”
Evelyn : Excuse me, by any chance, are you going towards the southern end of the city?. I live in an apartment over there, if you are going that way, can you drive me there?. You look like a good man, so I asked.
Kane : Yes, I am going that way.
Evelyn : May I come with you?.
Kane : Yes, come in.
“They both sat in the taxi and proceeded towards the south end of the city. Quietly, unless Evelyn started a conversation.”
Evelyn : So, where do you live mister?.
Kane : My home is in a village outside the city; my wife and my son live there. And I work here as a taxi driver. I visit them weekly, but this time it’s been a bit along.
Evelyn : Why are you late this time?, For Christmas?.
Kane : Yeah, also for a car failure, which i had recently. Which almost emptied my pocket, but I got a bit lucky later.
Evelyn : Ooh, good to hear that. I mean, the last part, that you got lucky.
Kane : Yeah, I am a bit better now. After the car failure, I was really depressed.
Evelyn : So, what present did you got for your wife?
Kane : Ugh (disappointedly). Nothing. You see…when I had the time, I didn’t have the money, and now that I have money, I don’t have time. I mean, all the shops are closed at this hour. And I don’t think I can wait till tomorrow to reopen the shops. I should be with them tomorrow.
I think I need to manage by pampering her and I will just tell her, i will buy her something later.
Evelyn : I see.
“Evelyn takes out a reddish-orange coloured lipstick from her bag and shows it to Kane.”
Evelyn : Why don’t you give her this lipstick, currently this is the most trending and favorite lipstick shade of every women. She will surely like it.
Kane : No, i can’t give her this, it’s yours.
Evelyn : Don’t worry, it is unused. I have never used it, so your wife won’t get my touch. You can check it, by the tip of the lipstick. It is as sharp as new, because it is new.
Kane : Oh no, that’s not what I meant.
Evelyn : I know what you meant. Just take it already.
Kane : But, what about you?. Don’t you need it.
Evelyn : No, i have more of them. My rich clients brings me expensive gifts.
“Evelyn gives it to Kane. But Kane is still unsure wheather he will give it to his wife or not.”
Evelyn : You have such a sweet family, i wish your family love forever.
Sometimes, I wish i also had a small family. But nobody will marry someone like me.
Kane : No,don’t think like that. I hope someday you will find someone, who will give you a new life and he will love you without worrying about your past.
Evelyn : Thank you.
“Soon they reached at the southern end of the city, and they parted their ways by wishing each other farewell. And Kane continued towards his home.”
“Finally, the very next day morning, Kane reached home. Where his wife, Lily was waiting for his arrival. Lily welcomed Kane. Kane shared the stories of last night about his three passengers with Lily. Later, when his son, Jake woke up, he delivered them their gifts. Kane was very nervous about the gifts. But they liked it. And then Jake ran outside whistling his whistle. Lily tried her new lipstick and showed it to Kane. And then they ended the story with a gentle passionate kiss.”
