Windowed

She exchanged all the pleasantries with me, the entire journey. She was whispering to me the engineering and design of deceptive labyrinth called life, and in it all the civil society living a pipe-dream. Her constant “wooshing” suddenly lulled as the brakes clenched the steel. The horn of the locomotive engine cautioned the arrival of Itarsi. The platform was comparatively less crowded in comparison to the platform of the capital city. Hawkers and vendors shouting tea (my favorite beverage indeed) urged me to slip my hand into my pocket to get my tab, in order to savor its aroma and thus aesthetically please my taste buds. This is another reason why I like window seats. 

The only good thing about travelling alone is attention to detail. Never before was I amazed by the intensity of the nightly beauty, the fragrances of trees and mud, the weird sounds of creatures of night, all tranquilized me, made me forget the chafe feelings and soothed my chastised heart. The exacerbating shaking of dilapidated old window-sash and the creaky sounds produced by the window-sill, sometimes would draw my attention away from the serene motion-picture outside.

The train caught hold of the track with full vigor and was ready to tear anything that happens to fall its way. While forwarding, more and more trees came into the sight (they were on a parallel track made of mud and soil), all waved goodbye and merged into one another as we parted ways. A single tree stood amongst the perennial wilderness, it was devoid of leaves and yet it had the courage to stay there and cherish whatever it is destined to face. The pedagogical trees made me ponder that everything happening around me is an account of the big bang and will one day dissolve into the big crunch.

En route amongst the layered tree-line zone, lay a small town seemed deserted first though, there happened to be a wedding and all townspeople were socializing and merrymaking there. The fireworks were depicting the grand unison of two families. The pied nocturnal darkness was very beautiful and the cool haze cheered me up.

She continued to play with the strands of my hair, singing to me, the paean for the deity of nature. My head was lying on my folded elbow resting on the window-shelf and I stared outside incessantly. She kissed me on my forehead making me feel blessed for no rhyme or reason. The half crescent smiled at me taking no credit for removing the duskiness around me. The train halted at the outskirts of another city, dark stretch of barren land with prickly shrubs lay in front of me. A light pole with a shimmering tube light stood still, wondered how many trains it had seen pass by. On the other side grotesque and disfigured trees, seemed as if their only purpose is to scare birds away from a desolate land. The chirping of the grasshopper entwined with the ceiling fan in my compartment along with the murmuring of a few insomniacs made me feel there is still life in this bleak windy region.

The engine whistled and gained speed, she came right to my face and kissed me good night, there I went into a slumber leaving anguish and its perils behind. I woke up with the first fleck of sunlight that fell right on my face. The morning was dewy, it brought with it new hopes and promises, and also tea. In a few hours I reached my destination address and got lost into the hectic schedule and worldly responsibilities.