Accident

"Papa, this place is so beautiful!" I said, sitting on the lap of my father, in the front seat of the car, as the young driver, I guess of about 18 years, was driving through the Dehradun Valley.
I was a small kid of 10 back then, but the day still haunts me and I still clearly remember all that happened, even after 8 long years.
Dad nodded happily, the driver being slow for the traffic on the road.
Dad looked at me with finger on his lips, asking me to keep quiet. He hushed, "When you are on the front seat, be careful not to speak a word. It may distract the driver."

"Why daddy?" I asked, jerking up. He showed his big angry eyes, and I shut myself up. Wasn't I allowed to ask any questions? But questions come without effort.. what if I forget them? I wondered.

The traffic eased a bit... the area seemed so beautiful, and the weather so cute.. the children were playing all around, merry making, singing and dancing in the drizzle. A small boy of about my age jumped up through the street to cross the road. I felt he was too stupid, why jump while crossing the road and play on the main street? But then, he was a village boy, how much would he know about the harm it may cause?
The driver bhaiya was just too slow for the road... and maybe the boy took this opportunity and flung himself in front of the car, happily.. except, the consequences were not so happy. The jerk was perhaps too much for him to bear as he flew to the side of our rented car and lay there, his face up. The brakes were applied, but the harm was already done.
We were horrified.
Dad tried to open the door to see the boy, but instead was greeted with angry villagers throwing stones at us. One big rock just missed us by an inch. Someone outside shouted, "Run from here, they won't take help nor understand anything."
He backed off, sad as we all were, as our car ran as fast as it could. For about 2 kilometers, they followed us with stones... on the way, our car did hit many other vehicles and brought a dent, but perhaps all knew about the incident. They never came out to protest and paved us way to escape.

It has been years since the incident happened, and we don't know whether that child is alive or dead. If he reads this, I sincerely hope, he understands, we wanted not his death...
We care for him.
If only, he still is alive, and I hope he is.