A blessing in disguise

Just recently, a double trouble hit the woman of my house on a fine sunny Friday as she was driving from home to the nearby mall with the children.

While on the way, she was given a nasty surprise when she encountered a double scare when a lizard suddenly popped on her windscreen while pulling over for her overheating vehicle.

As a slightly new driver's license holder, she was full of enthusiasm for her newfound achievement. She was driving her children around and the journey was smooth until the car suddenly broke down.

Smoke started to come, and she panicked. The car stopped and refused to move another drop of petrol.

Our seven-year-old boy, with all his instincts, tried to tackle her and balance the situation until I arrived on the spot. Upon reaching there, further horror struck her.

Unexpectedly, a shiny lizard showed up on her windscreen. It glimpsed at her, and she became hysterical. Her hands froze, and a chill ran down her frame.

The lizard, though well-mannered, kept looking at her with curiosity as its thick body slithered on the windscreen.

On seeing the lizard, her senses shook up, and she opened the door and rushed out of the car running. I became confused as I did not know whether to tackle the overheating car first or the lizard.

The intense heat from the sun added to her adrenaline rush. Droplets of sweat coupled with tears slipped down her face.

It was an experience of its own. Her throat dried, her blood chilled, and her heart pumped extra sounds. The question lingered in my mind. ‘How come a small lizard can come and threaten her like that?’ I had no answer.

As a man, I maintained my peace and composure. I hugged her, put her in my arms, and comforted her. I was patient and bore all her demands of those traumatic feelings. I patted her head and pretended to chase out the enemy though it had escaped long back.

It was hot and a passer-by offered to help us. Kind enough, we were offered his car and we drove back home. She gradually paced back to normalcy but she vowed never ever to drive the same car again.

I was left with no option but rather to incur huge investment in another car. She was happy she got a new car and she forgot about the lizard.

For me, the whole experience was ‘a big damage to my bank account’ while for her it was ‘a blessing in disguise’.