THE TRAIN JOURNEY #WRITEAPAGEADAY #BLOGCHATTER

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                                                                                                     Unsplash
 There she sat, as beautiful as ever, clad in a mauve outfit that looked just right on her. Her purple bindi shone bright on her forehead and he could not keep his eyes off her bewitching countenance.

It had been almost a month since he had first seen her. One glance, and he had fallen head over heels in love! Luckily, she was a commuter on the same suburban train as him. Every day, at eight thirty, she would be there, and so would he. His day began with a glimpse of her and as the first week went by, he noticed that she too would look at him and smile. Their journey ended at the same station where he took an auto to his workplace and she another one to her destination.

Initially, he was conscious of the fact that she could be accompanied by a friend or a relative, but she was always alone. Beautifully dressed, with matching bindis! His innate reserve made it difficult for him to approach her because he was aware that he lacked communication skills, maybe because he had always been shy, even as a child. Hence, he lacked the confidence to make friends easily.

The second week went by, and he was about to make a move when he saw her with a man and two women. She was so engrossed in what they were saying that she did not even look at him, which made him feel rather sad. He sulked in his corner till the train reached his destination, and hers, and as she got down, she turned and smiled at him, which brought his spirits up all over again.

For the next few days, she always had someone with her – either the man or one of the two women. He made no attempt to go anywhere near her, but only gazed at her from where he sat. Inside his mind, he would create dialogues with her in mind. He knew that one day, he would need them to break the ice with her.

The month was coming to an end. That morning when he got on to the train, she was there, demure in an off-white outfit. His heart skipped a beat. How beautiful she was, with her bright red bindi! He longed to go towards her. Suddenly, she smiled dazzlingly at him and he could not help smiling back. Shyly, he stood up and moved towards her.

He did not know where the words came from like an outpouring after he sat down beside her. They were like a torrent, streaming out from his overwrought heart as he spoke of his love for her. She smiled at him, her eyes sparkling as she looked at his face filled with fervour. Once in a while, she would cock her head sideways and then smile again. At last, when he had exhausted his conversation, he paused and waited. However, before she could say anything, the train trundled to a stop. They had reached their destination.

For a moment he waited, eager to hear her response. She stood, smiled at him, and waved before she began to move away, leaving him flabbergasted. He followed her as she took her usual route towards the auto stand. She was walking so quickly that she did not realise that he was right behind her.

The autos stood in a queue, waiting for passengers who had got off the different trains. She had reached the first one that was waiting and as he got closer, he saw her gesticulating at the auto driver. The man was listening intently, nodding at her. Finally, he beckoned her into his auto.

He ran towards the auto before it could move ahead. She glanced at him, startled.

“What is your name?”

She looked at him in puzzlement and then gave a faint smile. He asked again, this time with some urgency as the driver started the auto.

“Please, please tell me your name.”

The driver turned to him, realising that he was labouring under a strong emotion.

“Sir, I don’t think she can tell you her name. Didn’t you see her using sign language right now?”

It was then the cloud lifted. The beautiful girl he had been following for almost a month was unable to hear or speak. He stood there in shock, as she waved a slender arm even as the auto took off in a cloud of dust.

 I am participating in the #WriteAPageADay Challenge by #Blogchatter in the month of February.

745 words

Comments

  1. Careena2/08/2024 12:40:00 AM

    Oh... I can't quite put a finger on what I feel after reading this, some strong emotion. Maybe a need for continuation. Will this new knowledge change the nature of his bewitchment with her? The flow of your words, as usual, elevates it~

    ReplyDelete

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