The Journey (Part II)

(If you haven't read it already, read the first part of the story here)

When Nitin woke up at the middle of the night, he found that he was covered in sweat.  It was a hot and humid November night. He made a mental note that he needed to speak to the attendant of the coach to adjust the temperatures of the AC. While Neha slept peacefully, he found much to his dismay that the train had also come to a standstill. He hated when trains were late than the scheduled running time. Even after so many years of travelling in Indian railways, he had not accepted the reality of railways. Tired of the sultry conditions, he decided to find out the reason for the halt and catch some fresh air.

‘Hey!’

‘Oh.. You!’

Nitin could not help but be startled at the sudden cold feminine touch on his shoulder out of nowhere. It was Anjaly – the lady whom he had befriended a few hours earlier. Nitin had wanted to sleep early. But it was impossible to go to sleep without being rude to her. Moreover, he did not want to be rude to a beautiful lady –a lady who reminded him of how his wife used to be. Only when he had dozed off sleep while hearing to Anjaly, she had realized how tired he was and insisted that he go to sleep. Truth be told, it did not take much insisting at all.

‘Did I scare you?’ Anjaly mocked.

‘Umm.. Not really. Never mind. What are you doing outside so late at night?’

‘Hah! I know Karate. I am safe!’ she said in a mock serious voice.

‘What happened to the bloody train? How long is it stuck here?’

‘Apparently, few local peoples were trying to stop the train.. The fish plates of the tracks are open a few miles out. Probably the Maowadi bastards did this. The driver managed to stop the train just in time and avoid a major accident.’

‘Holy Shit. We could have died.  I read about all this train accidents.. I could have been in one of them tonight’.

‘Hah.. So, you didn’t die today! But are you really alive?’

Her sly smile spoke so much more than she did. And the eyes – they were so similar to Samantha’s.  It was the second time on the same night that Nitin had to consciously try and think of something else.  It was her eyes which attracted him the first time.  But then it reminded him of Samantha. And every time he thought of Samantha was a pain. The futile thoughts of what could have been – rather should have been.

‘Hey! What happened? You look funny..’ Anjaly interrupted his thoughts.

‘It’s nothing.. I am just a little.. ’

‘When people avoid eye-contact, they are mostly lying. Tell me what it is?’ she giggled cutting him off midway.

‘It is your eyes’.

‘Eh? What about them?’

She looked at him with a puzzled smile as he gazed into her eyes.  He wondered how she could have eyes so strikingly similar to her now deceased Spanish wife.

‘It’s a long story’, he said after a while.

‘It’s a long night, right?’

‘So be it then. I will check on Ni and be back.’

‘I shall be waiting’.

(To be continued..)

Photo courtesy: 'Spanish Eye' by Pablo Picasso

The Journey

‘Dad, you promised that you would tell me a story last time.’
‘Haah.. you do remember things, don’t you? Okay. I will tell you a really funny..’
‘Nooo!’ ‘NOT a funny story again.. I remember the last funny story you told me – it was NOT at all fun. Tell me a ghost story!’
‘But Neha - ghost stories are boring.. and they are all imaginary.. no fun at all.’
‘I still would prefer a ghost story..’
‘Okay. Come lie down in the berth. I will tell you a story. This is not exactly a ghost story. It is a real story.’
‘A real story? You saw a ghost?’
‘Come on Ni! You know there is no such thing as ghosts! Something weird happened to us when we were in college. We were a group of five friends...  and he started telling the cock and bull story he had concocted at the spur of the moment for his eight year old daughter.

They were going to Delhi for a seminar from Mughalsarai in Kalka Mail. Like most other people they had an early dinner and by the time the train reached Allahabad, an hour late than scheduled, they were getting ready for sleep. That was when Neha had reminded him of his promise.

 Neha was chosen from DAV Public School to represent her zone. Neha’s dad who was a teacher in the same school thought it was a good idea to spend the weekend with her daughter. He had doubled up as her dad as well as mom after Neha’s mom early demise shortly after Neha’s birth in a car accident. He never bothered remarrying.

‘.. and then when Dhruv finally got enough courage to open the door, you know what he saw?’ 
‘Aaah.. I think she dozed off. You are quite a storyteller’ spoke a female voice from behind.
It had been barely ten minutes Nitin had started and Neha was already fast asleep.
‘Ya, we both had a long day. I think I should sleep too’.
‘So you are not just a soporific storyteller but a Sleepy Joe as well eh?’

She was beautiful. Dressed in kurti and jeans, she sported a smile that Nitin had to make a consciously effort not to get lost in.

‘I’m a History teacher – this is a professional hazard’. He tried to be funny.
‘Well! That explains it.’

He smiled.  There was something very attractive about the lady. He tried to figure out what it was.

(To be continued...)

Photo courtesy: "Another journey by train" by Steve Leggat