18006 Samleshwari Express

Usually, our co-passengers were uncle-aunties; their son of my age or infants.

My dad introduced himself to her counterpart & initiated the conversation. I could not thank my dad enough. We exchanged pleasantries. Her name was Shreya & she was one year younger than me. I could see a Walkman beside Shreya & cassettes of Bollywood albums especially Tere Naam. I couldn’t be happy more; our taste in music are alike.

Dinner arrived. The custom of placing newspaper over our berth started as a precursor to dinner.

I was lucky to have a seat opposite to Shreya. I might be exaggerating, but it felt like a romantic date.

Next morning, we woke up with the blistering voice of “Chai Garam”. We freshened up & I found her relaxing in the comfort of Harry Potter novel. I initiated the conversation with a fake interest in Harry Potter. The conversation slowly baked into a diverse array of topics, including our school, friends, and taste in music, books, and the purpose of visit.

The whole afternoon was well spent with activities like; playing ludo, book cricket, roaming from one side of the coach to the other, listening to music, hopping out to the platform with our parents to get fresh air & striding within our coach length; so that the train is within our reach & we don’t get left behind.

At night, When Jamshedpur arrived, the train coach was dark & silent. Slowly, I was succumbing to the void of nothingness. Everyone was asleep peacefully, but I was awake & earnestly hoping that they don’t get up & the train leaves the station as soon as possible. I was praying to God & was ready to give up everything in order to my wish be granted.

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