Pune-Patna Superfast Express (12149) A story of two passengers

 PUNE-PATNA EXPRESS (12149)

{A story of two passengers}

Hello.! Guys it was a real story about my friend. He narrated me and I would like to publish this story to the readers, As per their request I am not mentioned their original names and places, Just feel it.....

Note: I am writing this story from the perspective of the person in the story
 This incident happened to me 5 years ago, which I narrated to Puvvukonvict (Blogger) To publish with lots of love.

To remind me of a few cherishing moments, which I relive often and forever.

It was a cold promising night in January 2016 and the clocks were striking twenty-and-half. My semester break started and I was on my way back home from Pune with my father who had come to accompany me. It had drizzled an hour ago and the winter breeze was blowing dead cold and hard. My train Pune-Patna Superfast Express (12149) arrived at the station from the yard. Gazing out the window, I witnessed the sky above the town was the color of a television tuned to a dead channel. All I could remember were train announcements, passengers running around, relatives seeing off, coolies carrying luggage, trolleys moving around platforms, hawkers shouting, and a high-pitched cry of a small girl. Being bored, I moved to my (always preferred) upper berth. Ten minutes passed.

Then all of a sudden a middle-aged man with his daughter came to our compartment. My father greeted him and he did the same-half-heartedly and half-worriedly! Afterward, he got busy arranging their luggage and his daughter helped him. At sharp 20:55 hours. the train whistled and started crawling out of the station. Later, the girl climbed up to the upper berth to her respective seat, in front of mine. She was the cutest girl I have ever seen. She was in black Levis jeans and a white Italian-tailored top. She would be around 20, the same as that of my age, I made a guess. Being a fairly tall willowy brunette, her slender mermaid-like persona was electrifying. Her brownish-black hair was tucked in a pink hairband, I was amazed and lost in her mild aroma. I was a bit apprehensive to start any conversation.

On the other hand, our fathers were indulged in full-fledged talks, as expected.

Half an hour passed. But nothing happened.

However, our eyes met innumerable times in between, and every time she passed her alluring smile led my heartbeats to a couple of kinks!

"Hi! I'm Pragya (not a real name) !", the pretty girl enunciated these words with a childish giggle. However, I was barely listening as I was like a super-efficient induction motor- motionless and soundless, but fully induced by her stray magnetic charisma.

Not a single syllable came out of my mouth.

I felt my tongue rolled up and transfixed.

"I said hello, do you hear me?", she asked with a somehow increased pitch in her chocolate-to-ears voice.

I hiccoughed.

Bolted up and replied, "Hello", stupidly.

She grinned in glee-true arresting.

Thenceforth, for the next four hours, we talked and talked and talked.

She was undoubtedly an impressive and jovial girl.

I unknowingly found myself in a new world dark and mysterious.

We started a lot of things ranging from past childhood lives to reveling adolescence, from studies to hobbies, from our favorite music to movies and even politics for a few minutes!

But above all, the most beautiful moments were those in which her hair fitfully covered her face whenever she made gestures during our talks.

She told me about her deepest of ambitions-how she wanted to become an air hostess and her taste changed; why she dropped the idea of becoming a professional dancer in her twelfth class and so on.

Funniest of all, she told me how she colored her friend's pet dog in multi-hues and subsequently, how she and her friend Samantha wasted their whole day washing that little fellow.

The next day passed in a similar way in chit-chat with few breaks for collective meals. "So what do you want to become now?", I enquired in the evening," an RJ? An actress? or, a singer?"

"An IAS Officer", started earnestly," __but, I know that I won't it!" she admitted.

"And, why do you think so? Can I know?", I shot another query. A smile hovered over pink-hued lips, "You'll never know!", she decently declaimed looking sad. Her face was hardly a couple of feet away and then I noticed the dark circles around her eyes. It seemed to me that either she had not slept properly for many days or she was doing her late-night studies religiously. Time was ticking away, tip-toeing past me. I wanted to hold its flow but to no avail.

Almost then, I realized the validity of Einstein's Theory of Relativity: "Put your hand on a stove for two seconds and it seems like two hours. Sit with a beautiful girl for two hours and it seems like two minutes. That's Relativity!"

"Pragya beta, get ready, we have 20 minutes more", her dad informed her.

"Yes, Daddy!" she exclaimed.

"W-What 20 minutes for what?", I asked her looking puzzled.

"Allahabad-", she replied disappointingly," -my hometown! I've to get off the train."

And, within an instant, a surge of adrenaline intermingled with zillions of unexplainable feelings struck my head.

My mind benumbed and I literally shivered.

Before I could say anything more, she gave me a Bournville chocolate out of her Winnie-the-Pooh bad.

And we shared it, rather it would be better to say that we shared a gamut of inexplicable emotions through it.

I fumbled around in search of something very precious to give her but failed. Finally, I offered her my 'Best Collection of 1001 Poems' book that my father gifted me on my fifteenth birthday.

Suddenly, she slowly moved across to my berth and sat beside me. "Read a poem for me!", she pleaded with glistening eyes with her palm on my right hand and shoulder touching that of mine.

Skin touched skin and the warmth of her olive skin and her appetizing sweetness poured strong currents of molten metal inside my blood vessels.

I do not know how and why, but each second that I was losing was painful to spend as I turned the yellowish pages of the poetry book.

Finally, I stopped at a particular page, titled 'Love at first sight'

I looked at her and she looked at me and uttered, "Please, read!"

I began reading almost inaudibly...

Do you believe in love at first sight?

I'm sure it happens every day;

But, we're too young to know what love is, at least that's what some people say.

Pause.

But then, they can't see inside our minds,

And they just can't know how we feel;

But, I believe in love at first sight,

I know my love for you is real.

Another Pause.

I have loved you since the day we met,

Ever since I laid my eyes on you;

And for me, it was love at first sight.

I hope the same for you.

I stopped reading and peeped at her.

She was staring at me, breathing heavily.

I could feel her moist breath on my right cheek.

She beckoned to read further. I continued...

And now I'm asking you to be mine,

To come and spend your life with me;

Be my girl, and I'll give you my world,

And all my love eternally. I love you!

I finished with the poem and ogled at her.

She gave a shy smile.

"So did you understand what I, I mean, the poem wants to elucidate?", I asked her with my heart palpitating madly.

She said nothing and just shrugged.

My heart sank.

Although I offered her the book, she was reluctant to accept it till the end.

Moments later, when her father called her down, she hastily slipped it into her bag within a split second.

The rest of the time passed at the speed of light.

The train finally arrived at Allahabad station.

We parted from each other with a formal 'Bye-nice-to-meet-you' greeting in front of our parents. Moments later, she was gone!

Almost then, I remembered that I had forgotten to take any of her contact details and I cursed myself.

After a minute or so, my father told me that they had forgotten their few important documents, so I must go, search for them and deliver it.

My heart did somersaults as I was going to meet my first love (yes, it was love, for sure) and take her phone number at least.

I stepped off the train and searched for them but I could not find them after a lot of endeavors. I stood there where I was for a while and looked at the papers in my hands.

One of the envelopes read:-

TATA MEMORIAL CANCER HOSPITAL (MUMBAI)

--------BLOOD TEST REPORT-------

Patients Name : Pragya XXX

Disease: Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (Stage II)

Date of birth: XXX, 1993

Age: 19 years

Sex: Female

Place: Allahabad (UP)

The words scribbled over there took ages to sink in and I felt my soul pierced.

After a while, I felt the warmth of a wrinkled hand over my shoulder.

I turned and found the caring and forced-smiling face of her father.

He looked at me patiently.

I handed over all the medical reports and he thanked me.

I noticed Pragya standing a couple of feet behind him with a smile fading away. I stared at her in half agony and half hope. Soon, she tried again her best to give her innocent smile but this time with a nod worth more than a thousand words-unspoken but tender.

A part of my mind was saying, "Yes! She accepted your proposal. YAY!",  while the rest of it was finding the happiness rather too painful to endure.

Seconds later, she went away with her father.

I found my limbs too weak to hold my body weight as I staggered to my coach.

And as I stood in front of my best friend in the world, my father, I vocalized, "Papa, she"

He said, "I know!" and X-rayed me for a moment.

After that, he did not utter a single word, and neither did I.

I felt, as if, I was standing in the middle of nowhere amidst the quest for love and torment, or perhaps something more than that...

💚__________________________💚

Thank you.......

Puvvukonvict.....

Do you want to share your story?

↘Click on mE↙