Chicken Soup... or was it Poop?!?

The rains had been rumbling in the clouds since morning & had decided evening was the time to unleash itself. It was pouring down since evening & the sky tanker just didn't seem to get empty!

By the time I managed my way the Bus stop; I was half drenched. ...& the lil space I could manage under the firestation near the bus stop was enough to get me full drenched!!

Ohhh! What a start. Am I getting cold feet already? I wondered.

My first trip with a group of total strangers ...correction, like minded strangers; yet strangers all. I didn't know what to expect.

Mulling over these very thoughts I stood under the firestation roof looking out for the one recognisable face to show up.
In the meanwhile, spotted a few members of the group & after the regualr hi's & hello's amid torrid rains, we waited for the others to arrive.

By 10:15 we all now collectively waited for the bus to arrive.
& as the bus arrived, all that was in my mind was, "Board the Bus! Then it'll be fine."

Little did we know that the adventure was waiting to begin rightaway!

One by one we all jumped in the mini stream running beside the footpath to make way into the bus....

.... & Yeeesssssshhhh! As I stepped my foot into the water... Oh hell....whhhhaaaattt! ..the water was upto my calves! Whhaaatttt the heckkk! What am I goin to do!!! My jeans is never gonna dry up!!

& I don't like it!

As if, that thought was not enough to get me slightly gloomy, as soon as I entered the bus, the stink definitely pushed me into it! The smell in the bus was pungent... of fish or of something similar.

"Oh God! I sure wanted adventure... & you sure are giving me one....." Only, I should have been more specific; 'Dear God, let me have an adventure MTO!" [Made to order] '
Will keep this prayer in mind the next time I promised myself.

Spending a night with clothes wet, luggage wet, bus smelling like a fish market... people I have no clue about...I was wondering what I'm up for in the next 2 days!!

As I settled in my seat, slowly we started acknowledging each other better in whatever limited way we could. Coz to our humourous horror, there were Onions & God -knows -what -else, sacks of veggies too stacked in there, onions & lemons escaping the jute knots & rolling out on the aisle!

Anyways, within 15 minutes or so of the journey, a senior member of our team commented that there was something leaking over her seat from up ...something which was definitely not water. It kept dripping at a constant ratio & soaking their seats & them up.

& the guesswork began.

"What is the drip..What is that smell...what could it be....." Everybody got talking about thier assumptions.

Now that's when I discovered the bestest part, which started putting me to ease soon enough. I discovered the group I was with, was a lively & a sporty group. Immediately within no time, all were cracking up with jokes & guesswork with what the colourful water & the smell be.

For, even if any one person would have shown displeasure, it would'nt have been a right start.

Ofcourse, there were no answers there to our guesses, unless someone went to the roof of the bus & checked. Since that wasn't happening, we all tried to sleep.

Within a hour or so, the bus stopped for its usual break at someplace on the highway.

Now, I hated the thought of getting down in the wet clothes & all...but the stench was so bad, that almost all of us were down before the bus could even shut its engine well!

Hmmm... standing in the sides of another bus & trying to dry ourselves from the little breeze; suddenly somebody called out to look up our bus.

& There it was!

The reason of the stench right in front of our eyes.

Stacked in baskets by the dozens, the whole roof of the bus was lined with chickens being taken to our common destination.

I really thought, OMG! We were accomadated on a goods bus [if there was anything like that!] I've NEVER had an experience like this!

Now the confusion started making sense.

The smell was of the chickens & the veggies combined together. To top that, the chickens had a free bath & that water was being showered on us too, from the windows, with added fragnance!

Again free & unasked.

Morning looked really far away....

Between the rains on the roof & the wet trails within the bus, the night passed by with a couple of more eventful things.. yet nothing as eventful as the mystery we were trying to solve:

"Was it finally the Chicken soup... or ... was it the poop?? "

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