They met often, or rather, they crossed paths often but seldom had the conscious knowledge of each other’s presence. He was a manager at a reputed bank to the west of the city while she worked as an architect on the restoration project of the Marriot outhouse near the airport. Today was a rather rough day for him. The presentation had gone well but the new clients did not seem convinced about many points. They had called for a successive board meeting the following week. Her day had gone smoothly with coffee and sprouts between a few field surveys and a product design finalisation. They both lived one station away from each other though home was miles away in a small town where the river met the ocean for him. On the other hand, she lived with her sister as a paying guest in a studio apartment somewhere to the far end of the city. He took the violet line till Chanakyapur and then got off at Subhash Singh Lane where she boarded the train after getting off the yellow line.
The pink line was their lifeline for it was on one such day through a chance happening that their eyes met as they stood grasping the handle bars of the train. She regretted not boarding the women’s compartment. Atleast she could have found an empty seat there. Squeezed between throngs of regular commuters, she noticed him lay his eyes on her again. She noted his rolled up sleeves and loosened blue tie from the corner of her eye. The train halted as passengers scurried to disembark. She turned towards the packed innards of the train in his direction. They were locked in each other’s gaze. They looked at each other for as long as a flash of lightning. It was as though their faces felt familiar yet distinct from the rest but still somehow unrecognisable. She quickly glanced away embarrassing him for a moment until they looked at each other again to register their faces in their mind’s eye. No. No one familiar. It had been a tiring work day and the middle of the week. Still a long way ahead to look forward to the weekend. He had no plans for the upcoming weekend. Maybe if he didn’t act so creepy then he may have stood a chance to ask her out. Tempted to introduce himself and more so to break the ice, he made the first move. Pushing past a few fellow passengers and shoving briefcases, he inched close enough towards her to be at an arm’s distance. He smiled and extended his hand. Hesitant at first, she held out her hand into his and they exchanged a firm handshake. Not too hard not too loose. His whole body tingled at the sensation of her soft touch. She beamed back with her silver braces reflecting the half- lit station lights as the train paused for a few moments to load in more tired passengers. He smiled back noticing the light tint of her lips. He loosened his tie a bit more and swallowed hard to keep from falling as the train rocked its course. He looked around for an empty seat. Few office goers crammed into the cabin while the pathway to the doors narrowed down in the rush. It was the end of the day.
With nothing else to do, he stared for a while at the route map above the door opposite to him. He knew the pink line well. He knew that he would have to wait for another three stations till he arrived at his destination. It would be late by the time he found a rickshaw or cab to make it to his matron’s residence. Some days he would just have to take a brisk walk from the station. His work timings had frightfully been offending her the past few weeks. She had given him gentle reminders and reprimanded him lightly several times before she finally put in some extra conditions on the renewed rental contract. The new rules were in force and could not be bent. He would have to stay out the entire night if he couldn’t make it on time.
Suddenly, his eyes fell on her again. She wore a tweed sweater, and formal black trousers with kitten heels. Her bronze highlighted hair was gloss stricken with gel and dazzled in the blue lights of the tube. She was browsing through her phone and chuckling at something in it. Time to time she would look up from her phone to glance at the map or the doorway. Then shifting her weight from one foot to the other or making some room for those around her with a smile, she threw her phone into her tote and looked towards the exit. Her kindness struck him and he felt the urge to make small talk with her. He wondered if that would be appropriate without seeming to be over friendly. He pushed a few fellow travellers to reach somewhere near her but by then she had already moved towards the door. She was about to get off the train. He had to do something quickly. Something, anything. The train stopped while he rushed towards the door as she alighted from it. He was pushed into the train by the force of passengers hurrying inside the train’s belly.
In a hasty move he jumped off onto the platform trying to catch up with her pace. “Excuse me!”, he yelled after her. “Hello there. Excuse me. Miss. Heellloooo,” he screamed as she rushed off towards the elevator to leave the station and take the main exit. He made a dash for it too and manged to grab her by the elbow. Perplexed and equally startled she turned around. Her eyebrows twitched and she bit her lower lip in surprise. She flipped her hair and pushed it behind her ear with her free hand. He gaped wide eyed and let go off her elbow slowly. Her hearing aid hung loose by the tug at her elbow while she furiously made communicative signs with her hands.
By Tasnima Yasmin
An Indian poet. Her books include Silhouette and Other Poems and My Little Book of Nonsensical Poetry. She is presently pursuing her PhD in English Literature in India.
