| Taxi | |
April 14, 2013
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| He loved her but she didn't love him. He was a taxi driver and his taxi was waiting for her in front of the building where she worked. Sometimes, when he didn't have customers, he was there. It was around 7 p.m. A man from the building came to him and asked about getting in. He politely refused, saying he had a waiting customer. 30 minutes later, she went out of the building. When she approached his car, he opened the automatic back door. She usually ignored it, but this day she felt too tired to walk to the station to go home, so she got in the taxi. She said, "You are a stalker. You already know where my apartment is." He ignored what she said and started his car. The last two times when she rode, he would talk to her but she wouldn't say anything so he didn't try to talk to her this time. Half an hour later, the car pulled up in front of her apartment. She said, "I don't think that you expect me to pay." He said nothing. She left without saying anything. He sighed and started to drive away. Several weeks later, she got in his taxi-cab for the fourth time. She looked exhausted. This time, differently from
After a bit of silence, she said in a low voice, "I have life insurance. If you like me, could you get in a car accident for me?" He looked in the mirror. She looked serious. He breathed deeply and said, "There is an under-construction section of the highway's overpass several kilometers ahead. This taxi also has insurance, which covers rich people, so it's kind of expensive." She agreed with this proposal. A couple of minutes later, they reached the constructing site. After his car went through some barricades, he stopped his car and said, "Can you see the flag over there?" There was a red flag several hundreds meters away. He continued, "Before the flag, if you say 'Stop', I can manage to stop and we'll survive. After the flag, another world will be waiting for us." She nodded. He started. Soon the red flag was approaching. She closed her eyes. She thought that her life was not so bad, at the last moment... She said, "I was an amateur." "I don't think that an amateur is bad," he said. She weakly laughed and opened her eyes. The moment, the red flag had passed away. My life is over ... , she thought, ... with this strange taxi driver who has devoted his life for me, for my ... Who am I? Who is this person who is arrogant and selfish, only think about herself? " Suddenly, a strong anger which she had never experienced overwhelmed her. She shouted, "STOP!!" The taxi driver immediately slammed on his brake. But it was too late. The car couldn't stop and skidded along, leaving a sharp braking sound in the air. She gently spoke to the driver, "I'm sorry. You are a good person. I hope to somehow compensate you in heaven or hell. I'm sorry." However, she couldn't fulfill her promise, for the car managed to stop well before the edge of the drop zone of the overpass. The taxi driver gave big sigh of relief and said to her, "I misunderstood my navigator. I was an amateur." She let out a big breath of relief too, and said, "Maybe I should come to like an amateur." She smiled broadly. |
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*pull up: when a vehicle or driver pulls up, the vehicle slows down and stops (COBUILD)
*slam on the brakes: to make a car stop very suddenly (L)
*skid: a sudden uncontrollable sliding movement of a vehcle (L)