The Strawberrywallah

The car meandered through the smoky evening for a minute and stalled .
The One Red eyed beast smiled maliciously and I fumed with
desperate urge to reach my evening cup of Darjeeling.
Burnt diesel, putrefied smell of something unimaginable pervaded the senses and numbed the mind, till I heard a tinny voice at my window. A small nose pressed at the closed window
And one thin hand balanced a box of strawberries,
The evening had the right amount of chill for enjoying a barbecue or just staying indoor with the feet wrapped in quilt. Oh! How I was looking forward to it.
He was wearing a T-shirt , big for his size and shorts which ended much before his knobby knees started; he had a big grin on his face and picked up a strawberry to tempt me.
I rolled down the window and told him, "no , don't want any..they are usually sour. Don't want to be fooled again". I was about to roll up the window, when in surprisingly loud voice for such a tiny body he started eulogizing his precious ware. Did you know they have come from the land of snow, where apples are sweet, the oranges are juicy and Strawberries...Ahhhh..they are the best!
If you bite into one, it will melt like a drop of butter on a hot skillet. Ohhh and when it bursts inside your mouth, you will feel that honey is dripping from the comb. And have I seen the colour?? Isn't it just like rosebuds about to be bloomed?
I looked at him mesmerized and he smiled at me with glittery eyes. I asked casually "have you tasted one?". Suddenly, all light from his face were put out as if by magic. He just said "no"
I was surprised. He was a strawberrywallah after all. I asked him"why?"
He smiled and said "father will beat".
The red eyed devil decided at that moment that it would allow me to pass after all..and the car sped away into the night.

The little strawberrywallah melted away with all his dreams of sprawling strawberry fields..
The lingering taste of a red fruit feeding his dreams
The imagined flavour of a fruit from the land of snows tickling his nose.
He is waiting for you in the next red light you stop at.