ANIL liked his job. He was a driver, and a very good one at that. He had driven the rich, the powerful and the stupid. Now he was driving the dead. All of his previous employers had given him hell at one time or another. It was always “Do this!” or “Do that!” or “You forget to do this or that!”

Now all that drama was over. The ‘people’ he drove now did not have an attitude, and that was good enough for him.

He had an out-of-town job this weekend. He had to take the body of a young lady to her village. This meant a six-hour drive, but Anil didn’t mind. He always had a bottle for company. The hearse had some mechanical problems, so he collected the body three hours late, which caused him to leave the city at 5:30pm. By six, he was miles from the capital and speeding towards ‘Forget me not’. Darkness closed in quickly, but that did not hamper him. Every now and then he would take a quick drink, keeping a sharp eye out for the cops.

Eight o’clock saw him entering the main road leading to a number of remote villages. It was a dirt road that was unlit and littered with potholes — small, large, ridiculous and cluster potholes. Driving quickly would ensure he joined his silent passenger. Anil crawled along the dark roadway.

Sputter! Clank! Sputter! The engine was acting up again. After some more protesting noises, ungainly lurching and jerking, it backfired and shut down. Nothing he did made a difference after that; the engine refused to start. He gave up trying and settled down for the night.

Now, most people would have a serious problem driving dead people, but Anil was different. He comforted himself with the fact that he was just transporting a box. That was that. What was in it was none of his business, and he intended to keep it that way. He never peeked at his passengers. Stretching out on the seat, he fell asleep.

Click! Snap! Anil came awake groggily. He had taken quite a few drinks, so his brain was taking some time to click into gear.

Tap! Tap! Someone was tapping on the window. He switched on the light in the car and looked out. It was a lady. He opened the door and ran his fingers through his hair to make it neater.
“Can I stay with you?”
Anil was pleasantly surprised. The only thing he liked as much as rum was women.

“What’s up?” he asked.
“I got caught on the road and can’t catch anything till tomorrow,” she said.
“No problem.” Anil said, smiling to himself.
As they settled down and began to chat, he found out that she was a very nice person, and they soon started laughing at each other’s jokes.

Things progressed from good to unbelievable. Anil had a night he would never forget. They both fell asleep; tired.

The next morning, when Anil awoke, his one-night-stand was gone. He cursed himself for not finding out more about her. A truck drove up and the driver helped to repair the hearse. The drive to ‘Forget me not’ continued.

Anil arrived about two hours before the funeral. He dropped the casket off at the church and waited outside for the service to end. A relative called him to assist with removing the casket from the church. When he entered the building, the viewing was not finished. Family and friends had encircled the casket and were in deep mourning.

Someone beckoned to him, and he moved towards them, intending to suggest that they close the casket and proceed with the funeral. The casket was close and he strode up to help with the locking of the box. A close relative who arrived late made an urgent request to see the dead. The family obliged. It was the worst thing they could have done.

The lid was raised and Anil found himself staring into the beautiful face of his lover of the previous night. She was wearing the same clothes, and had a smile of contentment on her face. Anil freaked out. Screaming like he’d seen the devil, Anil dashed out of the church and away from the horror of his discovery. In his exodus, he forgot the hearse and a good pair of shoes.

By Neil Primus