Hmmm

I looked at her. She looked at me. She smiled. I don’t know how, but she did. I tried to seem cool. Unperturbed. Relaxed. Convinced. Calm. HAPPY.

I had been standing for 24 hours before that. In a train. General compartment. I was tired, exhausted and hungry. And I felt this is the worst one could possibly feel. But as soon as I saw her there, in that condition, I understood that there is a feeling which hurts far more than all this – helplessness.

There she was. Almost whole body wrapped in plaster. Jaw supported by a frame. Messy hair. Dried lips. But still, smiling. How? I still don’t know. Why? Because I was there.

2 hours. I sat there, right beside her. She stayed silent, while I chose to continuously blab about something or the other. Telling her that she is gonna be ok. Telling her that I was totally ok. Not at all shaken. But she knew lying doesn’t come easily to me.

Two hours was all that time allowed me. Boarded another train. Got a place to sit beside the lavatory this time. Another 24 hours. Man! I hate journeys. But this one did not bother me. Not because I was too happy, but because I was too sad to bother. Something told me that day, that it could be the last time I had met her. How I wish I was wrong!

That was two years ago. And two years is supposed to be quite a long time.

Well, not long enough, it seems.