Sophia's ears picked up the vroom of a taxi, propelling her to draw the curtains apart. Though her aunt told her that the taxi would not be standing below until the spokes bend to 6, her mind got diverted easily by the sound of every vehicle that passed by their house.
Having all the work connected to the trip performed by her, she began to peek through her room window built on the second floor, veiling her head behind the curtains, with only the lower body projecting out of it.
But gazing continuously at an empty road was not fetching her anything. So, she walked over to an armchair which was overlooking the narrow window. She loosened her body on it, resting her head on the soft cushion on the topmost part of that chair. The chair produced a tip tap sound as it swung continuously forward and backwards.
Then Abruptly, her aunt knocked on the door with her fist tightened. Obtaining no response in return, she deliberately cleared her throat and howled," Sophia, the taxi has arrived already, how much time will you take to make yourself ready." tapping the door with the same intensity. This made Sophia instantly lift her eyelids, rub her eyes and stretch her arms in a rainbow. Being woken up, Sophia walked towards the door and dragged its latch.
" Sophia, what were you doing inside? couldn't you hear my voice? I called you several times, but you answered none of them. Can I know the reason? Do you want to enjoy the trip or stay here as usual? This time no excuses would be entertained." Her statement was that of a professor who would notify the students of the regulations during the conduct of a college trip.
" No, No, aunt, I want to go to the hilly areas and enjoy my excursion. I want to tour every corner of the mountains and open myself to nature and its values. The reason, I didn't answer your alarms, is I slept after readying myself and my luggage. I am fully prepared!" said Sophia, uttering every word slowly and exhibiting gestures to support her conversation.
" It's okay. I am glad to know that you are not setting your luggage or combing your hair. You are infested with the thoughts of mountains. It would be your fresh experience. Experiences teach us how to cope with the future. I wish you good luck with your fresh start. And now, don't waste further time, because our taxi driver is a grave fellow, who does not wait any further for any of his passengers."
Sophia took it as a mockery and laughed a little. Then grabbing her luggage, she trod the steps of the stairs lightly, clutching her hand to the handle of her carry bag and staring at it unstoppable.
When she halted in front of the end door of her house, she could watch the taxi driver staring annoyingly through the door open ajar. He was standing at the entrance of the door, smoking a cigarette. Then lifting the pipe from his lips, he puffed the smoke covering the entrance with white fog. It lasted for a few minutes and began to deplete.
" Can you please stop throwing nasty looks at our house decor? You should not stare like this at anyone's property. Some people are not as kind as us to spare you doing such an act". Stella gripped her hand rudely to the handle of the entrance door and opened the ajar door to the fullest. The complete portrait of the Taxi driver was then visible. He was attired in a mustard t-shirt with brown pants supported by a loose belt.
" I was waiting there for more than 15 minutes." stammered the taxi driver when Stella lifted her hand upright. She had in her hand a wristwatch, glancing at which she straightened her head in fury and shouted," Stop this nonsense! it's 6:17 now, nothing much." Stella curled her arm to display the time through her watch."You are a taxi driver and should know how to serve your passengers properly. No more excuses now, with the wink of an eye, keep our luggage inside your taxi," saying so, she pointed her index finger, to the front door.
Sophia kept staring at both Stella and the taxi driver with tense expressions. Then, taking a deep breath, she lifted her luggage with the handle. She was halfway to the front door when Diana interrupted," Why are you carrying it to the taxi? Isn't this his duty? She kept staring into Sophia's eyes.
"If his duty as a taxi driver is to serve his passengers without any question, we should perform our duty too. We should carry our part, and the rest is his," said Sophia in a calm tone, imparting every word Its importance.
Both of them walked toward the taxi and had themselves ready. The three girls were seated inside the taxi, with normal expressions. Stella sat with crossed arms and narrowed eyes with eyebrows slanting to the tear duct.
"Told her it was better to book a high-cost five-star taxi than suffer in this filthy second class," mumbled Stella, chewing gum and knocking her teeth against each other. Sophia clasped her hands and closed her eyes when the taxi driver tossed himself in the front seat.
" We are ready to go now. Is there anything left, ladies?" implored the taxi driver politely? Then Stella lashed out with narrowed gazes," There is nothing left, better concentrate ahead."
"Stella, he asked calmly, so you should not have spoken to him like that," told Sophia calmly, to which Stella answered," You had better not act as his surety. Keep yourself away from such matters because these people are nowhere to be trusted. Only yesterday, our mother read out to us the news related to the murder of an old man inside a cab. How can we trust these fellows?"
"You have to trust dear, to win the trust of others for yourself." requested Sophia, Listening to which Stella chuckled and turned her head away. It seemed like the heat of the day wearied Stella's body, compelling her to show fury and anger over ordinary matters. The Sun was blazing hot that day and the car a.c. was not functioning properly.