A Night in the Train

He was late. Not unusual for him.

Chennai station was crowded. As usual.

With such an eloquent ease, he made his way through the confusion and heat.  He was not in a hurry even though he didn't know the platform on which he would find his train home. 

On the dilapidated notice board, he found the platform number of his train. It was written with a smudgy red marker that S6 would be at position 12. He walked towards it. He thanked his stars for not taking the crossing bridge. He hated climbing those steps!

She was already there. Safely seated inside and waving at him. She was showing him signs to speed up as the train had already started to move. But he didn't care. He was thinking about the sweet box he used to buy whenever he left for home. He didn't have one this time. He missed the yellow packing of the box with Adyar Anand Bhavan written in dark blue. It had the smell of pure ghee which they used to make the sweets. He missed the Yellow box and the smell of ghee.

He normally doesn't take this train. It had a unusual timing. It leaves Chennai at 4 in the evening and reaches home at 3 in the morning.  But then she called and asked him to accompany her. And he agreed because it was a long time since he went home. 

Before the train picked up speed, he got hold on to the yellow bar near the door. Behind him Chennai station's watch tower slowly moved into horizon. 

He walked towards her coup. Unfamiliar faces, some lost and some already settled. He was looking around for some interesting character. Suddenly she came from her coup and called him. 

She was her classmate from yesteryears. Once she was very close to him and then she had to change the school as her dad got transferred to another city. They had lost touch until years later  they accidentally met here in Chennai.  And one day, out of the blue, she came with this request.

She had changed. Her eyes were more wider. Eyelashes neatly blackened. She wore a brown cotton salwar. She had a bangle like watch which had an odd symbol. She smiled at him. That hadn't changed. 

And they talked - about school days, about home works, about their best friend, about college, about lovers, about sex, about future.

Train was nearly reaching home. Around 10 ours had passed and both of them did not notice. Everybody else had departed on the stations before theirs. And when they stopped talking there was silence. Synchronous sound of rotating wheels  played a music to that silence.

The cold breeze from the window ruffled her hair and she was was having trouble adjusting her hair.  He got up and closed the rustic iron window.

It was then their eyes met each other. They hadn't met for a long time. Both didn't avert their gaze.

He never took the first move. Not now and not then. So she said in calm voice "Didn't you have a crush on me? "

He would have refuted it but then it was around 3:00 AM and he didn't want to tell a lie. "How did you know ? ".

"I always knew" She told.

"How?" He persisted.

"Because I had a crush on you." She blushed.

"Why didn't you tell me ?" He queered.
 

"I thought you would tell me first." He could see the disappointment in those eyes.  "I waited for long but then you never said anything." She looked down.

The signboard for Palakkad junction zipped past them and train started to slow down.He silently got and picked up her bag from upper rack and gave it to her. Their eyes met again.

He averted those questioning eyes.