As Rohit was admiring the night sky full of stars, he suddenly saw a shooting star which was making its way towards their house and upon reaching the roof of his house, it stopped.
“Wow!!” ‘What could that be?’ he thought.
At that time he was walking in the garden, he saw that the shutter of the garage was slightly ajar and the light from the garage was visible outside.
“Who could be in the garage at this time?” “We do not have a car and we hardly use the garage!” he thought?
They did not have a car here at Gangar. They had one at Hyderabad. Their Maruti Suzuki 800 was 20 years old but had started giving trouble off and on.
His parents had purchased it when they had got married and were quite attached to it. However, they thought it prudent to sell it off as getting it repaired in the mountain region would have proved quite difficult.
Upon reaching the mountain region they had found that there were a lot of mechanics who could repair any type of Maruti Car. The Maruti Company had been in India since 1984 and the Maruti Suzuki 800 car had travelled till the highest motor able reaches of India. It was a good car and when stuck in a haphazard parking area, it could be lifted by four persons and turned around and one could get out of the area with ease. All cars could not be lifted that way. Now the entire family wished that the car had not been sold off.
“No one had any business in the garage at this time,” Rohit thought. He further thought that something was not quite right.
He decided to investigate. He tip toed his way towards the garage. He could not see or hear anything. Perhaps during night time visibility is affected.
Nothing was wrong with his ears so why could he not hear anything? He wondered.
He opened the door of the Garage and there in front of him was the most beautiful car he had ever seen. It just took his breath away.
The car was a ripe cherry red in colour and seemed to be smiling at him. It looked like the Volkswagen Beetle. All of a sudden, its headlights started flashing and the horn sounded. The sides of the bumper of the car pulled upwards and the car looked as if it was smiling. The windscreen wipers of the car started moving slowly.
Rohit got scared and rushed out of the garage calling for help. Who could be inside the car and why was he turning the lights of the car on and off?
“How could a car smile??” “How could a car flash its lights on its own??” “How could the windscreen wipers start moving on their own?” It was as if the car had some joker inside it. He decided to call someone to see this phenomenon. No one would believe him if he just described it.
After all, it is said …. seeing is believing. But…. whom should he call to see this phenomenon?
His father had finished his dinner and had stepped out for a breath of fresh air when he saw his son running towards the house.
Upon seeing his father outside the house, Rohit changed direction and ran towards him instead.
The child was so agitated, so perturbed by what he had seen that he clung to his father.
“What happened son, why are you so frightened?” Jay asked Rohit.
“There is a red VW Beetle car in the garage and it….. is alive???” replied Rohit. “It smiled at me, blinked its headlights at me and showed me its moving windscreen wipers…...!”
His father could not comprehend what his son was trying to tell him. He decided to go with his son to see what all this was about.
Both set off towards the garage to see what was inside. While they walked, both were in their own thoughts.
Rohit’s father thought that some tourist might have parked his car in the empty garage. He and his companions could be spending the night here as they may not have got accommodation in the only hotel in the town of Gangar.
They should have sought permission. You cannot just go and occupy anyone’s property like this even for a few hours. Permission is necessary.
Rohit, on the other hand was thinking that he was not mistaken. He had indeed seen a magical VW Beetle in the garage and was hoping that it would not disappear before his father could see it.
They reached the garage and stood outside the huge door. Rohit stood behind his father. Indeed there was a brand new 1998 VW Beetle, cherry red in colour, inside the garage. Rohit’s father was also surprised.
He knew that the VW Beetle was being assembled in VW Puebla factory in Mexico. There were talks of bringing the polo version into India in the beginning of 2010.
“Who could have parked it here?” “Where were the owners, no one seemed to be around?” He decided to call out to ascertain if anyone was there indeed or not.
“Who so ever has parked this car here, show your face immediately!” How can you park a car in someone’s garage without seeking permission from the owners of the house?” he called out.
Surprise….Surprise!! No sooner did his father call out that the car glided out of the garage. There was no one behind the driver’s wheel…..!!