“Turn off the lights! Can you? It’s 1!”
Though it was one in the morning in that small sleepy town, she was wide awake. Staring into the blankness of the view that the window in their room offered, Naina was lost enough in her thoughts to not realize the time till her sister grumbled.
Having moved out for her higher education, Naina had almost forgotten the quaint and calm of the city she called home. Longing for it, she took the train back home whenever was that possible. It was hard to overcome the charms it held for her.
Back in school, it was a ritual for her; staring into the depths of the night once she was done with the mundanely tasks of studying. When the Ambala Express passed the small gauge tracks, at one, Naina would come out to soak in the showers of the moonlight.
It reminded her of him. And years had passed since they last met. Crazy teenage crushes. But unfortunately for Naina, he was more than just a teenage crush.
3 years her senior, Aneesh was new in school. The shy and handsome student had fast captured imagination of most of the girls around. How could Naina be unaffected?
Playing together in the basketball team had worked his magic on her. Spellbound by his mere presence, Naina made sure she went to school, even if it was just to catch a glimpse of him. But in an age where flirting extensively and exchanging numbers was the norm, all she could do was muster up courage to tell him that she liked him. To which she attained even a more diluted response in the form of a smile.
Naina made sure she never faced him again. She just didn’t had the courage to. Despite it being such a small town, making sure they never crossed paths was not as tough as she had anticipated. But years later, now on nights like these, quiet and serene, she couldn’t help but always wondered; what would it be like if it instead had happened? What would it have been like to know him? To know if he ever harbored feelings same as hers?
Neha in sleep, mumbled again, “why don’t you sleep?”
Realizing that it was late and she had a train to catch early morning; Naina decided it was time to get back to the real world again. Aneesh and his hijacking of her mind could wait.
“S III seat number 56, is it confirmed?” Thankfully, for the long waiting lists she was used to, had ceased and her seat was confirmed. Once again she was leaving, and as always was leaving behind memories of a man she thinks she loved. A man she had decided never to meet again.
But this morning, destiny decided to have a little fun. And all her attempts to settle in the seat went vain as her co passenger unsettled her. There he was. One she never had to meet.