I woke up with a jolt; With traffic in
Bangalore becoming totally annoying; I was too surprised to reach the railway
station quite a bit early. The driver looked like he had a bad fight with his
wife for some reason and I did not want to bother him further with the
questions; I just paid the fare and got down with my luggage and started walking
towards the ticket counter. Fortunately, it was not all that crammed. I stood
in front of the counter and wondered where I really wanted to go to. The person
inside the counter was already getting restless; I looked at him and asked when
was the next earliest train for any destination be possibly arriving.
The guy
immediately positioned me as just another case in the list of lost-minds he had
experienced in his tenure. He took a deep breath and said, Next train is to
Mangalore, 5 seats remaining, do you want the tickets? The ticket landed into
my hands even before I finished nodding my head. I picked a water bottle and
boarded the train. I prayed that I get a window seat and it seemed like God
heard me. I settled down with some music and my scribbling-pad. I was consumed
by a lot of thoughts until a million-dollar toothless smile caught my
attention.
Only then I realized that my fellow
passengers was an old couple. The man looked really charming and he got down at
every station to help his lady with snacks and tea and every time she thanked
him he smiled and hugged her passionately. I only thought that such love
existed only in fairy tales but experiencing it for the first time made me feel
really good.
Hours went by, my ears ached and my eyes
begged for some rest. I looked outside the window and it seemed like the moon
did not want to leave my side. The starlit sky looked like my mom’s black saree
with a thousand polka dots. I was almost falling asleep when I realized that a
pair of eyes yearned for my attention. I looked back and it was the old-man; he
sat right beside me, it felt a little awkward but I somehow managed to smile. I
wondered why he was awake yet when his love was snoring away to glory. He soon
came closer to me and whispered in my ears; it took almost half a minute for me
to understand that he was asking me for the lower berth. His eyes shone brighter
than all the stars in the sky; I could not deny. I agreed and let him have the lower berth.
The old man was relieved and he told me that
he lived in Mangalore with his wife and
had traveled all the way to Bangalore for his grand-son’s funeral with
uncontrollable tears rolling down his sagging cheeks. There was a great sense
of gratitude in his eyes as he held my hands in his. He said, I had to wait for
almost a week to let my eyes free themselves with the weight they carried and I
found you.
The old man closed his eyes while he still
muttered about his grand-son’s death. He was not a friend, not an acquaintance
absolutely a stranger to me; I was baffled at the degree of connection I felt with
the old-man. Unknowingly, I shed tears too looking at the plight of the couple.
I woke up with a touch of something as
soft as a fur that brushed my hair and a feeble voice calling me with cute
names. As I opened my eyes, the old-couple with trembling hands stood in front
of me with a cup of hot coffee and an ear-ear smile. The lady was smiling and this smile was
very different from the one I had noticed last night. This smile of hers
had life in it now and the old-man gleamed with joy. We spoke for an hour
before our stations arrived. I helped the old couple with their baggage till
the taxi. The old-man hugged me tight once again before we bid good-bye I
smiled and waited till their taxi moved far away from my scope of vision and
turned back to find a taxi for myself. As I walked away from them……...........
“Years of acquaintance is what I felt
from a single touch of yours, impression you left on my heart was perpetual.
Soon, I shall meet you with the lessons called experiences I learn in the journey of my
“LIFE”.......
“LIFE”.......
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