The Day...

It was Monday Morning at Dadar Station - probably the most crowded railway station of Mumbai suburbs. She was walking down
towards her train, already placing her day in mind with a list of things to do. There was a light hum in the air at that busy station and a few announcements in a screechy voice about the train schedules. She loved that morning, as she usually did all Monday mornings. She looked at the schedule indicator and there, her train was already put with a bright red numerical. She hurried towards the platform and while pacing down the staircase she was watching all the heads from the top. There were many thoughts in all those brains and suddenly she felt a shiver that she was going to blend into that crowd. As the train arrived, all the thoughts stopped for that moment and every one hung to the already crowded train. She thought she saw a face in that crowd. She halted for a moment but it was impossible to find it again. She boarded the train and looked for a comfortable place to sit. She was eager to put the list in mind onto her laptop.

She sat and opened her laptop and felt a bit awkward to see lipstick clad curious mouths around. So nothing had changed in two years! She used be a regular at these trains and at this station but nothing had absolutely changed in Bombay. They were more bridges to connect highways though, but the feel was just the same.

She closed the laptop and got off at her station and looked for that face again but he was not there. She kept thinking about Vinod all the while, in fact that was one of the reasons to travel by train this time. She wanted to remember all that again. Deep in her heart she wanted to contact Vinod also. But how? Her heart ached at the memory of Vinod; she wanted to meet him, talk to him.

She was back again at a crowded flyover bridge on the railways. Every thing was just the same as she had left two years ago. She now concentrated on her road as she took an auto rickshaw from the station. She reached her office building. She noticed that the building was much better now; the construction work was over and it was cleaner. The area around it, which used to be full of mud and sand, was now neater. She felt nostalgic about those small moments while she waited for the elevator to arrive, felt they were also very important for her to carry them as a pleasant memory. While she reached the office, her colleagues were waiting for her. They all gave her a warm welcome. New people were introduced to her and the old ones were happy to see her back and told her that they missed her. She was touched by all the warmth and realized that even she had been missing the cubicle she used to sit in and the people there. They ordered a good lunch, had it together just like they did two years ago.

When she sat at the same cubicle again, she felt a sudden strong memory of Vinod. She remembered their phone calls and endless talks. She smiled at the memory of the early morning messages to each other. She felt how crazy all that was, calling 10 times in a day and then sunsets in the evenings. There used to be nothing to speak at the end of the day and still there were calls probably to listen to the silence from each other. She wanted to call him again.
She kept herself busy that afternoon with calls and meetings. The day was over; she thought of catching up with some lost time. She thought she must travel around Bombay to check whether everything was as it was. She wanted to watch the sunset again; she wanted to sing by the sea while watching the sun going down the salty water. She wanted to call Vinod.

She wanted to call him and congratulate him for his international award winning film. That made her smile again, thinking about their arguments. Both knew that no one wanted to win. She thought of their talks of ambitions and the time they used to spend talking by the sea. It all felt so new again. As if she had not missed a day, as if it had been happening till only yesterday.
Suddenly the phone ring startled her. She was thrown back to the present world. It was Rajen, her husband. Rajen needed a good guide for his second Bombay tour. He was teasing her about her memories of all those days and said he was curious about them. She knew it was all a good humour from him she smiled and they decided to go to the sea and watch the sunset.
Rajen was in a very cheerful mood as he usually used to be. He told her about his day and asked her about hers. They went to the old fort near the sea. Rajen wanted to take a few photographs of the old temple, which she noticed was much busier than it used to be two years ago. They came back up to the fort. She said the fort was just as it was and Rajen was curious to know where she used to spend her time. She showed him around the fort and shared some good jokes and laughs. She noticed that it was still the same. There were still couples coming there to snatch some moments alone and also the same guys who would come to watch them. She shared some old jokes Vinod used to crack about them and again had a good laugh with Rajen.
They watched the sunset quietly hand in hand. Rajen asked her to sing a song. She did. Rajen clicked a few photographs of her in the beautiful evening sunlight. She was having a good time. But she thought of Vinod all the while. She felt thankful to Rajen for not disturbing her lone mind. She knew he wanted to know so much but was not asking her anything.

She had decided to marry Rajen because he was mature and focused on his field. Probably for the same reasons she had loved Vinod. It had been one whole year with Rajen and she had been enjoying each moment with him. But she still missed Vinod. Rajen understood that, he was from a broken relationship himself. She was happy with Rajen for their high level of understanding towards each other.

She remembered the last evening with Vinod when they decided to part. They were grown ups, they were mature and they had their own lives to lead. They had enjoyed the most lovable moments together. They had shared joy, grief and also fear together. They knew each other so well. But they had their own lives - very different, which could not have merged into the world. They had a world of their own but that could not have complemented their own separate worlds. They knew it was going to disturb their happy lives if they still were together and they decided to part.

Then she met Rajen. So engrossed in their own professions that they didn't notice each other. She was not happy when her mother suggested that he was a good guy and she must think of marrying him. She met him very reluctantly and they talked about their own professions. They didn't notice each other at the first meet. When her mother asked her about her opinion, she was not ready with any comment. Her mother decided for her and now she was realizing that it was really fun to be with Rajen. He was a good husband, a good friend and yes they loved each other a lot.

As they were walking the rocky way down the fort, she whispered to him, 'I love you'. He pressed her hand and said that he loved her too. They waited on the way and kissed each other lovingly. Started walking again they saw some guys watching them and had a good laugh. While sitting in the car, they promised they would visit this place daily while in Bombay. There was so much Rajen wanted to ask her, there was so much she wanted to share with him. She needed to brush up her tour guide skills for Rajen.