Power of the
Unseen
By Rafiq Ebrahim
Gllyn IL
My brother-in-law
and his family had come to Karachi from the USA
on a visit in 1985. We were coming back from my
father-in-law’s place in Clifton to go to
an uncle’s place in Gulshan-e-Iqbal in my
old Volkswagen. Just as we approached the Clifton
Bridge, the car staggered, then stopped. It simply
wouldn’t start again, though the petrol tank
was almost full. I got down, opened the bonnet,
looked at the engine and checked the spark plugs,
but to no avail.
It was getting late that dark night. The road was
almost deserted, for in those days traffic was not
so heavy. My wife and my sister-in-law were wearing
conspicuous and glittering jewelry, and I got scared
at the thought of some evil-intentioned persons,
coming there and taking advantage of our plight.
Fortunately, a taxi was passing by. I hailed it
and urged my brother-in-law to take the family to
the uncle’s place in that taxi. I told him
that I would somehow manage to get the car started
or park it at a safe place for the night.
To leave the car there would be inviting trouble,
because in those days car thieves were making hay,
and if not stolen, certainly I would find a skeleton
of my car in the morning, because they would take
away the tires and the engine during the night.
I signaled a couple of cars passing by to stop and
help me by either giving a push to the car or tow
it to the nearest gas station (petrol pump). But
nobody bothered to stop.
God! Help me, I prayed inwardly many times. A few
minutes later, I saw a man wrapped in a white shawl,
approaching me. He asked me if I needed any help.
I told him about my plight. He asked me to open
the bonnet, which I did. He just put his hands over
various parts of the engine and asked me to get
into the car and turn the ignition key. I did that
and, to my utter surprise, the car started!
I got out of the car to close the bonnet and thank
the man and ask him whether he needed a ride to
go somewhere, but the man had just disappeared!
I looked about, but he was nowhere in sight. Nonplussed
and completely at a loss to comprehend where the
man might have gone, I remained seated in the car
for a few minutes.
Then it dawned on me! Was he a man? Or…..
Was it help from the Unknown? Power of the Unseen?
A Miracle?
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