I Witnessed a Murder

Everyone has that one story where they almost died

Whether it was almost getting hit by a bus or falling off a balcony when they were drunk, those brushes with mortality remind us how precious life is.

But in my case, not only was I reminded how fleeting life is but also that it could be taken away by something or someone that has nothing to do with you.

The brush with death happened when I was at an all-night party in Toronto, Canada. It was the weekend and I was a university student who decided to join my friends for a rave party.

I am not sure if the kids are calling it that these days, but when I went, my friends were all dressed in weird colorful clothing like furry pants and glow-in-the-dark necklaces.

The music was various electronic genres like house, tribal, hardcore, happy hardcore, industrial, and the list goes on.

Raves, if you can’t already tell, were not my scene. I just went along because I was single, bored, and wanted to see what it was like partying all night long. Usually, I was home by 10 pm and watching episodes of The Simpsons in my bedroom.

My friends were all really into the rave scene and all took some MDMA or ecstasy (which is now called Molly) and though I was never a fan of alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs, my friends convinced me to try half a tiny pill. Peer pressure works.

For those who have never tried it, I don’t recommend it because it’s an illegal drug and is addictive. It also probably causes a whole bunch of side effects and medical problems in the short and long term.

But I admit, it was the weirdest, stimulating, and euphoric I have ever felt in my life. Every sense from sound, sight, touch, taste, and smell was amplified and acute. Licking a lollipop, watching glowsticks swirl, hearing the beat of the bass, and being surrounded by a crowd of high energy, high and happy people was one the most exhilarating feelings I’ve ever had.

So it was such a shock to my system that in this time of blissful happiness, I came face to face with pure evil

As the venue filled with people and the crowds got more packed together, I lost all my friends. Everyone pretty much wandered off occupied by their own senses. I was enjoying the effect the dancers with glow sticks were having on my eyes so I sat on the floor and watched in amazement tripping on the psychedelic light show.

I then had an urge to pee so I stood up and went to the bathroom. On the way, I came face to face with someone who looked a lot like me.

In a room filled with mostly white and Asian people, this guy I came across was the only other tanned person I had seen at the club. Whether he was Indian descent like me, Middle-East descent, or South American I am not sure, but we made eye contact.

As soon as we passed each other, I felt him fall back onto me. As I turned around, I noticed him fall to the floor and start flapping around on the ground like a fish out of water. But unlike a fish, what was gathering around him was not water but a pool of blood.

People started screaming, a circle opened up around him as people looked on in shock and tried to avoid stepping on his blood. Security came and grabbed him and held him down and tried to help stop the blood.

Eventually, a lot more security came, pushed the crowds away and the music stopped. The announcements for everyone to make their way to the main hall blared as confused, stoned people hobbled around still dancing despite no music playing.

Police and paramedics arrived, and people had their identification checked and recorded as they left the dance hall.

It didn’t completely hit me until I saw the news the next day and learned that the guy I had seen, was a 20-year-old student with an Indian background who had been stabbed. He was just two years younger than me.

Whether he was connected to drugs in the club, had a fight or argument with someone there, or was just a random victim, I am not sure. But at the time it really scared me that out of the only two brown people I came across at the club (one being me), one was stabbed and killed.

If it was a hate crime, it could just have easily been me. And if it was just a random killing, I was standing next to him when he was stabbed so once again it could have been me as well.

It really messed me up and that was my last rave and all-night party ever. It was also my last time dabbling in narcotics.

I guess there is no real moral to this story

What happened was completely random and there was no way to predict or protect myself from it. I was just unlucky that I was close by and lucky it wasn’t me.

I guess the main takeaway is that the world is a random, chaotic, and crazy place. No matter how much you try to avoid bad things sometimes they are unavoidable. Instead, maybe we need to just find the good in every day because we don’t know when our last day will be.

This article originally appears at: https://medium.com/indian-thoughts/i-witnessed-a-murder-af4979679fa1