THE TRAIN AFFAIR
Part 2
This went on for many weeks. Sameer was getting impatient. He wanted to interact with the girl. He longed to talk to her. The opportunity came on a rainy day. Sameer, as usual was heading towards platform number five. He saw the girl getting down the stairs. He immediately rushed towards her and started walking behind her. Today, he had made up his mind to talk to her. At the bottom of the stairway the girl slipped. She was about to fall but Sameer caught her. For a few seconds she stood motionless in his arms. She blushed profusely at his closeness. Her eyes focused on his face. She slowly released herself from his arms, straightened her dress and pulled her duppatta over her shoulder.
“Thank you,” she said.
“Sameer.”
“What?” the girl said.
“My name is Sameer.”
“Oh. I am Priyanka.”
Sameer looked at her, but did not pursue with the conversation. He was besotted.
Since that day she started wishing him “Good Morning”. Sameer was happy with the small progress. They traveled in the same train now. Sometimes he saw her through the cut-out aluminum grill which divided the compartment into two sections, one for the gents and the other reserved for the ladies. On some days however he missed her physical presence because the compartment was separated by a thick wooden partition.
The early morning interaction with her became an important part of his life. He looked forward to seeing her every day. As weeks passed Sameer once again became impatient. He did not have the guts to ask her out for a date or for a cup of coffee. In fact he knew nothing about her.
The ‘Hello. Good Morning” routine did not excite him any longer. He craved for her presence, her attention. His persistence finally paid off. It was early December morning. He was standing inside the compartment near the cut-out aluminum partition. He was busy as usual looking at Priyanka. He could see her chatting with her friend in the adjoining ladies section. Every few minutes even she lifted her eyes and looked in his direction. It was enough to send Sameer’s blood pressure shooting through the roof.
Just before her station arrived, a ticket collector moved into her area.
“Tickets, passes please.”
Sameer saw Priyanka dipping her hand into the hand bag, fidgeting with her things.
Sameer was confused. Why was she is taking so much time, he thought. She looked perturbed.
“I have misplaced my wallet,” she finally blurted out to the ticket collector.
“I am sorry Miss. You will have to pay the fine or get down with me at the next station.”
“Believe me, I have a pass. I have just misplaced it. I think I left it on my table at home. All my money is in the wallet.”
“Sorry. You either pay the fine and continue with your journey or get down at the next station with me.”
Sameer heard the conversation. He wanted to talk to her through the grill and tell her not to worry, but thought otherwise. When the station arrived she got down along with the ticket collector.
Sameer immediately pushed the commuters near him to get down at the station. On his way out, he irked many and earned innumerable curses. But he managed to get down finally. Even as the train started moving he could hear abuses from the commuters.
He looked ahead and saw Priyanka and the ticket collector walking towards the station master’s office. He ran in their direction, shouting her name.
“Priyanka.”
Priyanka heard his voice. She turned around. Tears formed in her eyes when she saw him. A smile spread across her face. She was about to say something but Sameer stopped her with the gesture of his hand.
" I heard everything. Don’t cry, I am here now.”
He looked at the collector and said.
“I know her very well. She is my friend. Please tell me the amount and I will pay the fine.”
“Okay. I can give you a return ticket from Andheri to Churchgate? Or do you want only one way.”
“No give her a return ticket,” Sameer said.
Before the ticket collector could issue her a ticket, Priyanka stopped him. “No give me one way ticket.”
“But how will you come back in the evening?”
“Sameer, I come back in the evening with my Dad in his car. I need only a one way ticket.”
The ticket collector issued her a one way ticket along with the receipt. Sameer paid him the money. A small crowd had gathered around them. Mumbai was such a funny city. There were some people who had all the time in the world. Sameer looked and them and said, “What? Is this some sort of a circus?”
The crowd dispersed immediately.
Sameer caught hold of Priyanka’s hand and nudged her to move towards the canteen. He ordered two cold drinks, paid the money and turned around to hand her one. She accepted the bottle albeit a little hesitantly. He gently touched her arm, reassuring her.
“Thanks for everything. I will return your money tomorrow. I forgot to pick up my wallet. That's the price you pay for being in a hurry. ”
“It happens sometimes. But, what was the hurry?”
“I didn’t want to miss the train.”
“You could have got the next one.”
“Yeah, but then I would have …..”
Priyanka did not finish her statement.
“…. would not have met me?”
Priyanka nodded her head. They finished their drink in silence.
“You return home from the work in your Dad’s car?”
“Yes. His office is quite close to mine.”
“Then why don’t you go with him in the morning also.”
“He leaves very early and our office opens at 10:00.”
“Oh. Anyway, you will be needing money to travel from station to your office,” Sameer said, removing some notes from his wallet.
“No. My office is very close to the station. I can manage.”
“Common then let’s go.”
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