It was dark outside. I could see only the dim lights in the makeshift houses lined along the railway tracks. I looked at my phone; the notification light was continuously blinking because the phone battery was down. Cold breeze flew in through the windows as the train ran past the stations. I was not in a hurry; I wished that the train kept running and never stopped. I wished the night would never end, just as I wished that we shouldn't have broke up.
"The train will leave for the carshed, young man. Get out of here... Go home, it's late," said the police hawaldaar who entered the train and thumped his stick twice on the floor to disrupt into my thoughts.
He did not wait till I looked up. I looked around to see if there was any place to sit on the platform. The police hawaldaar saw me again and gestured me to the way out of the station. I pressed the unlock button again as I went out of the station. My phone beeped. It was Mom.
She was wearing blue jeans and a grey top with a cross bag. Eyes covered with huge glasses that touched her cheeks as she talked to the attendant. Her hair was carelessly folded into a knot which was on the verge of falling out. She was holding the phone in her mouth and probably searching for the ID in her cross bag. She looked even more beautiful than the college days. Her luggage appeared almost her weight. How did she carry that beast up to here!
The queue reminded me of the days when we would wait for the bus at the bus stop. We would talk sense and non sense for hours without realizing how time flew away and the buses passed away. Time also flew these four years and I didn't even realize until this day that the last day was four years ago.
I overheard her blocking the window seat number 8A. I gave a thought on blocking 8B but that would have been very awkward for both of us. And it was my first flight; who would want to miss the window on the first flight? I blocked 12A.
It was early morning on a Saturday. We had to get up even before the Sun would and be there at the Dadar Terminus. The hostel rates in Byculla near our college were too high so I found a PG facility 4 kilometers away from Dadar railway station. All my other friends would come over from Byculla which is about 10 minutes from Dadar by train.
I knew I was late. I still don't remember switching off the alarm and sleeping again. I woke up an hour late. When I reached, the train had already started leaving the station. I ran with all my vigour, with a hope that if the train stopped, I would jump in.
I was not the only one running after the train; even Aditi was running after the same train. She was having an even more tough time running with her many and heavy belongings. We were both running completely aware that we had missed the train. By the time the train entirely left the platform, we were gasping for breath with both our hands over the knees. She was looking beautiful in her full length black skirt and a polka top.
"Goa?" I asked after gathering some breath.
"Yes," she replied, still gasping.
"So how did the girls know about our Goa plan?" I asked curiously after gulping down some water.
We enquired outside the station and got to know that there were buses from the Dadar Bus Depot. We rushed to the depot and booked two seats to Goa. The bus would be slower than the train and would reach Goa by late night. We would be late to catch up with our respective groups but it was our fault.
"Are all these bags yours or are we expecting someone else?" I asked her in a teasing tone.
Aditi pinched me hard on my arm and the conversations started. We never joined back with our groups in Goa and we never stopped pulling each other's legs until the night of the farewell.
The college campus was all set up to host the farewell of its five hundred students who would officially be engineers after a couple of months. Dinner was set and the teachers had started munching. Announcements started, urging the students to rush to the dinner counters. Aditi was one of the few students who were dancing from the moment they entered the campus; she was in no mood to stop.
"Aditi, let's go and eat... it's getting late." I shouted as loud as I could have, but Aditi couldn't hear it.
Even Aditi was from Delhi and after the first year we found out a place for her too in Dadar. We had to reach Byculla station before the last train would leave; we had an hour in hand. I also had some good news for her. I gestured Aditi to wait backstage. I took more food than I could eat so that Aditi could eat some.
"Now tell me." Aditi crossed her arms and brought her ears close to me. "What is the good news?" she whispered and picked up a paneer tikka from the plate.
"Don't... do this to me Aditi." I muttered to myself as Aditi went away putting down the paneer tikka which she had picked up to eat. My plate was full of food. We hadn't eaten anything. She was hurt. But I couldn't have missed a golden chance to study in the US. I searched for Aditi but I couldn't find her. Sneha told me that she just took a cab and left. My phone beeped. I hurriedly took my phone out of my pocket, thinking it would be Aditi; it was the low battery alert – 10%. I was stunned by the metaphor that phone showed the juice left in the battery or in our relationship. I called Aditi.
"Pick up! Pick up Aditi. I want to talk to you." The phone kept ringing forever, but Aditi didn't pick up.
All that our three year relationship boasted of was the belief that we had in each other and today Aditi did not trust me. She left me alone. We have had quarrels – a many of them but today I was scared. I had lost something valuable. I was feeling empty. Aditi was my strength and today, I was helpless, hopeless and powerless.
Paneer Tikka has always been my favourite. I had taken more than I could eat. The cuisine was so exhaustive that anybody would have been spoilt for choice. The dining hall was full of lights. The walls were all glass which made it look larger than the original size. I had met a few friends, but not many from my group had turned up. The close knots tied in the college did not continue really well after those four years.
I was engrossed in picking up my third gulab jamun when someone patted on my back. I did not turn around till I safely escorted the sweet to my plate.
I was confused whether I should smile or be stern. I wasn't prepared for this. I had thought, I would be the one to approach first, but it was Aditi. Time flied back four years and all those memories, laughs, fights and the break up exploded up like a volcano inside me but I remained calm on the outside. I smiled and offered her food. She took a piece of paneer tikka, dipped it in the green chutney and took a bite.
"If only you had eaten that piece on the farewell too, Aditi," I thought to myself.
I still repented that breakup because the time we had spent together was unforgettable and the way in which we broke up was appalling. We chatted on how good the food was, how beautiful the bride was and how Bengaluru is not as cold as Delhi. We took long awkward pauses before we could think of a new topic to talk on.
"I never found anyone who is so loving and caring. Let us give our relationship, a second chance." Aditi broke the ice and took the topic that we both avoided for a little while.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Aditi was shocked.
My phone beeped and vibrated hard. It made a very loud noise because I had kept it on the table; it wasn't a call. The battery had completely drained out and the phone switched off.
The above short story was my submission for the TOI Write India Contest - Month of January.