Rogue Rider - #ATOZCHALLENGE – R (2026)

 

Taruna sipped her warm mocktail as she typed into the laptop. A short story had to be churned in another half hour and ideas were just not cropping up.

“What do I write about? When I try to pen down a few unfiltered thoughts, the only thing that comes to mind is family problems, how inappropriate people can be, how unfair life is generally and why a perfectly functional washing machine decided to break-down today.”

A drive along the busy crossroads of the city’s buzzing locality wasn’t always a cake walk. Traffic converged from all directions. The intensity of the snarl made most people go rogue. Some went into lanes that were clearly no-entries. Some overtook from the wrong side. Some two-wheelers squeezed themselves into unrealistic gaps, all in the name of moving ahead. “What was the motivation for all of this?” Taruna thought. “Was it the frustration of being caught in the snarl, the sheer impatience in human nature, or was it an unsaid norm in these parts?”

As her thoughts paused for a second, a two-wheeler almost missed colliding with her cab. The driver was a garish youth with a mohawk and a wiry frame that was in sharp contrast to the huge bike he was riding. The only thing common between the two was the kitsch look. The guy sped past like a rocket almost missing the scooter before him. His ability to manoeuvre the vehicle seemed to be a mix of perfected practice and a maverick mindset.

A signal later, the man stopped right beside Taruna’s cab and looked inside through his big broad glares. They were triangular and tapering, with a faux Nike logo made using a vignette of six different colours. The colours ranged from yellow, to purple, to dark pink, to red, to blue, to burgundy. His oversized jacket was pitch black with wide lapels and a snug fit, revealing his ultra-thin waistline.

His unapologetic staring made Taruna shrug a bit in disgust. She mumbled something that sounded like chapri. The biker laughed an indifferent laugh and rode off at an insane speed touching 150km/h still dodging the baffled traffic.

“This guy drives like he doesn’t fear death,” said Taruna to her already flustered cab driver.

“Many like him in these parts. They endanger themselves and others.”

Another signal later, they saw the same rider haggling with cops, commanding the conversation.

“This is the latest model that even a 100-years of bribes won’t buy you. Just let me go and stay in your boots.”

The glib of this man was appalling.

Goodness, the confidence with which some misbehave without hesitation. They seem to have lost all their sense of accountability. Taruna thought to herself. No Karma can deter him, not even death.

A phone call further emboldened the untamed beast. He was prompt to get back on his ride and dash off from the distraught cops.

“They say we cannot keep accidents in check. But these rogue entities have people who have got their backs. Tomorrow, even if they hurt anyone, they will go scot-free. I wish we had shoot-at-sight orders for these miscreants.”

The other traffic cop commiserated and they got back to their monitoring duty. More lives deserved to be saved.

When Taruna reached home, she began musing over the day’s events. Is it always wise to fear nothing, not even given the fact that things will not work in your best interest?

Holding on to this thought she slept for that night, hoping that some good sense might prevail.

 

The next morning, she woke up bleary eyed, a bit hopeful that a new day always hits the refresh button of life.

She readied herself for work and began to dig into the cereal bowl that she had managed to prepare for herself. A few scrolls of social media finally led to a story that made her stop and gape in shock.

The man who overtook her yesterday had rammed into a couple, killing both of them. He was taken into custody but let go because they cited it to be a mechanical failure caused by a tire burst. The rider was projected to be highly responsible and as having a highly impeccable track record. This was a one-time thing.

Intermittently, the scrolls had videos of the couple’s parents pleading for justice. Many offered their condolences and expressed anger, but a few forgot their limits of decency. This was apparently staged to get a speedier reimbursement from the insurance companies and some more government benefit as the victim’s survivors.

The rider too was not spared the hate, but it didn’t matter. He was let go just like that. Taruna was tempted to write how she saw the rider flout rules yesterday, but there were so many comments claiming they did. Her real account would drown in the sea of trolling.

She penned down the article about how a reckless attitude can cause much more destruction than one can imagine, partially borrowing the narrative from the story. While reading it out to her editor, she felt a lump in her throat. He noticed too, and realised what had happened.

“Not everything is in our control, Taruna. It’s good that you can clearly see through this very wrong situation, but there is only so much we can do, and then leave the rest to time and God.”

Feeling powerless, she prayed deeply for a miracle. Any miracle, that would make the rogue rider pay for his mindlessness. Not just him, but everyone who had complicity in this case.