2013-07-29

The Stranger at the Terminus

Everyday, he waited for at the station and as she got down from the train, beautifully draped in her salwar kameez, he followed her. She hushed speedy praying that he would lose her in the throng of crowd in the busy street. She was scared that a stranger with wild look has been on her trail for several months and wanted to file a police complaint against him for stalking. When she entered office, she forget all her worries and the weird looking stalker. Deep inside her heart, she felt that they know each other but she couldn't remember where she has seen him.Though, she enjoyed the attention and as the train was about to halt at the station, her eyes wandered to catch a glimpse of the unknown man, the stranger in her life. She couldn't help thinking that they have a certain connection, though he has chosen the wrong way by scaring her.
One day, she got down at Bandra terminus and didn't see the stranger who occupied her thoughts. She covered her face with the palm of her hands and saw him walking and looking for her at the terminus. She has decided to find out who he is and decided to follow him. She gazed at him through the fingers covering her face and he couldn't see her. Dejected, he walked away as she walked slowly behind him. He took a taxi outside the terminus as she hailed a taxi to follow his track. The cabs dashed in the by-lanes and he got down in front of the apartment. She hid for a while as she saw him getting into a van with his luggage and overheard an elderly man telling him, "Beta, take good care of yourself and make sure you have your air-tickets on you."
She was curious and thought, "Where is he going to?" As the van swerved, he threw a pouch out of the window with a sad expression on his face. She walked carefully to ensure nobody saw her and picked the pouch. She took a car and opened the pouch It contained a student ID card and she gasped for breath, "It was him!!!!!!" She saw some of his childhood pictures and they were in the same class in school and were the best friends. They promised to be always here for each other when they grow up. She has always looked for him, frantically searching for Manav on Facebook but never found him. She wondered where on earth they will meet and silently prayed to God. He was her real friend in childhood and she never wanted to lose him. She saw a nicely folded paper and saw a letter than he wrote, "Dear God, I found her and I always follow her. I wanted to tell her how much I love her since we were kids. Perhaps, I will never be able to declare for feelings for her and when today, I went to the station, she was not there. Blame it on destiny. I hope I find Shaina some day. I am flying for US today and please, God, always bless her."
She broke into tears and languishing, "What a fool, I've been." She directed the cabbie to drop her home.

(To Be Continued)

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