After spending the whole day at my work site, I started my journey back to my rented room on my scooter. It was around 8 p.m, and the ride usually takes about 45 minutes. I travel on the Nagapattinam highway- a road that feels lonely at night. There are no busy streets, no continuous shops, only a few scattered ones, and hardly any street lights.
I usually don’t wear my spectacles while driving. That night, the only light I had was my scooter’s headlight cutting through the darkness.
Suddenly, my scooter stopped.
For a second, my heart stopped too. My mind went completely blank, and fear rose from my stomach. I tried starting the vehicle again and again, but it wouldn’t start. The self start failed. I tried the kicker, but the scooter was heavy. I couldn’t put it on the centre stand, and after a long, tiring day, I didn’t have the stamina to start it.
I tried. I failed.
My eyes filled with tears. I was breathless. I stood on the highway where not a single vehicle passed for nearly fifteen minutes.
Those fifteen minutes felt like hell.
At that moment, a two wheeler with two North Indian men stopped near me. Instead of feeling relieved, I panicked. Somewhere in my mind, I already carried a fear of North Indians, created unknowingly after watching the Tamil movie Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru, where North Indian gangs were portrayed as criminals. That movie had planted an image in my mind, and in that lonely moment, the fear took control.
They spoke to me in Hindi. I couldn’t understand everything, but I knew they were asking what had happened. Out of fear, I replied, “Nothing”. They asked again and again, patiently. Finally, I managed to tell them that my scooter wasn’t starting.
One of them got down from the bike and came closer. I held my fear inside and moved aside. Calmly, he checked the scooter and tried starting it. After some time, he opened the petrol tank and said it was empty.
I was confused. I had filled petrol just the previous day and hadn’t travelled much. Still, he was sure. He asked if I was okay standing alone while they went to buy petrol. That scared me more. He then suggested that one of them could stay with me while the other went. I didn’t want that either, I still didn’t trust them at that moment.
They spoke among themselves and then decided to walk with me. One of them started pushing my scooter while the other pushed his bike, and we walked together to the nearest petrol bunk.
They bought petrol for me. They didn’t ask for money. They simply smiled and said, “Go safe.”
I said, “Thanks, brother.”
In that moment, a stranger became my brother.
As I rode back home, my fear slowly faded, replaced by deep gratitude and self-reflection. That night taught me an important lesson-not about scooters or petrol, but about people. Fear is often created by stories, movies, and assumptions, but reality can be very different.
Strangers don’t always come with danger. Sometimes, they come with kindness, patience, and humanity. The people I feared the most became the ones who helped me when I needed it the most.
That night on the highway changed my perception. It reminded me that humanity still exists in its purest form- quiet, selfless, and unexpected. And sometimes, the greatest lessons in life come from strangers who become family for just a moment.
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