The tuk tuk driver

Very soon after we moved into a place so much closer to the school, we got into a habit of getting up late.

Some times it's so late that we get to school just in the last minute before the bell rang. That was thr lucky case in most of the days. But on the other mornings we usually get caught.  

The worst thing about leaving home only about 10 minutes before school starts is the traffic jam.  It is really compact and time almost stands still (but unfortunately it doesn't) and it is almost impossible not to get impatient. 

It was in a time like this that we stepped out of our house into the shrilly, noisy highway.  It was just my mother with me - who works in the same school. Our father had left early, leaving us with the only choice of the tuk. 

Unlike the heavier vehicles, tuks tend to keep as close to the pavement,  where - in sudden jams - they make their way.  So that day, we found one really easily.  

I don't remember the driver's face, but I still remember him. He was tan - and with lots of white hair.  He was dressed rather casually - in a sweaty old shirt and a bluish sarong. 

But there was an obvious reason for not being able to concentrate.  From ahead of us, a faint white smoke was appearing, and in our choking moment we discovered that it came from our driver's cigar. 

As it was really uncomfortable, my mother asked him to throw the cigar away. Then the driver turned his head, and with the cigar still in his hand, without even looking at us, he spoke.  It was just two words,  but enough to shake us. 

"Get out."

Were we silent? I can't remember,  but I think my mother tried to argue because we were chased out of the vehicle by the bold and confident driver. Hot and angry, we went to search for another tuk tuk that would have a more reasonable driver. 

The story ends here, but my muse doesn't want to stop. This happened about 2 or 3 years ago, but still it's a pain in my neck. That driver was a man of service, and to serve people they have to make their sacrifices. 

As I'm writing this, I think about my mother.  A teacher - a woman of service.  But then, she's totally different from the above characters.  In order to give the best to her students, she even changes her personal life.  Thinking about her, I only have open disgust towards that tuk driver.  

But as the saying goes, the world is full of people who expects others to make them comfortable.