A Hilarious Short Story – Berth No. 19
Photo credit: dhester from morguefile.com
I crossed the last date of the month on the table calendar. The long awaited day had finally arrived. I was going home for my semester end vacation. After breakfast I left the hostel, wishing my friends for their journey and boarded the bus to Delhi. Its approximately a six hours journey. The bus headed for its destination at eleven.
During the journey, I made one plan after the other. The food I would gormandize on upon reaching home, the friends I would likely meet, the hours I would watch the television and so on. I reached Delhi at 5:15 in the evening, hired an auto and headed for the old Delhi railway station.
After waiting for three hours, finally it was time to board the train. I had to run a couple of times along the length of the platform before I found my berth S-10 B-22. I settled my rucksack which would supplement for the pillow at night and layed on the berth. Scanning around the compartment, I could see people jostling around the tiny passage most of them not knowing where they were heading for. If any similarity was to be found between ants and human beings, this was the place.
One thing though did strike me. The berth opposite mine remained unoccupied. In the past I have encountered such situations – a quick prayer that some interesting person may occupy the vacant berth had only resulted in yet another gentleman, so I had given up praying for this part.
Finally, the train hooted and snaked clumsily out of the station. Berth no. 19 still unoccupied. Indifferent to the situation, I took off my glasses and tried to sleep. About three hours late, the train stopped for a few minutes at the Tundla station then moved along. Suddenly, a movement at Berth – 19. First a rucksack then a body. My vision is very weak so I put on my glasses and what I saw left my jaws wide open.
A girl about my age, probably a Nepali who had all the features that a teenage boy would describe to his friends how his dream girl should look like. Of course, she didn’t notice me, but people moving around did give me a questioning look for what was a guy doing sleeping with his glasses on. If anybody did ask me, I would have candidly replied that my dreams were quite hazy without the glasses. Yes, they would laugh and ridicule but so would the person on Berth no. 19. Purpose would be served; I slept very little that night.
Next day I was very energetic, or “Over Active” as we guys used to say, one of the chief symptoms of “Trying to impress a girl” disease. It was the first time and probably the last in the history of travelling had I brushed my teeth, washed my face and combed my hair. It was hectic and unhygienic but had to move along with the situation. Needless to say, the person on Berth no. 19 did the same.
Minutes later she was seated on her berth and I on mine. No exchange of glances. No eye contacts yet. Enough was enough. The train was howling and eating up miles of distance like never before. Sooner or later, it would stop at our destination. A famous song of Bon Jovi came into my mind “Its Now or Never…..” Mustering up some courage, I asked her “Tea?”
Short and sweet to begin with. First silence then a nod. Thus we got along. Being or trying to be a gentleman, I told her everything that she needed to know about me, may be even more. She on the other hand was a bit conservative and spoke less than required. Soon it was day and then night followed. Lunch and dinner was my invitation. At last, it was time to sleep.
“Goodnight Prashant.”
“Goodnight Sneha”.
Just because she said goodnight didn’t mean I had a goodnight sleep. The whole night was spent on planning out the way I would explain her things, the next morning. What were butterflies doing in my stomach, why my heart beats were skipping, who was responsible for it and what was to be done to normalize the prevailing conditions. Quite pleased with this plan I dozed off for some hours.
It was 5:30 the next morning when we arrived at the New Jalpaiguri railway station. We stepped out of the train together. Mum and dad were waiting at the platform. They came towards me and asked,” how are you Prashant? Glad to see you”.
“I’m fine, how about you all?” was my response.
My mum said “We are just …., barely had she finished her sentence that her eyes set on Sneha who was a couple of steps behind me.
”Hello Sneha , how are you? Were you two in the same train ?”
I turned back and saw her nodding with a faint blushing smile.
” Prashant, meet Sneha, Vijay uncle’s only daughter. You know, she was a really cute girl.” my mum said.
In the meantime, my heart was throbbing as though it would part from my body. Mum’s voice was inaudible. My brain was transmitting just one signal to my excited heart – May Day! May Day! Abort Mission! Abort Mission…
(This piece of article is purely fictional. Resemblance of any part of this article to any person living or dead is purely co – incidental and unintentional. However, for such unfortunate people, I have a word of advice – before you woo a girl or a woman et al, request her to give you her detailed family background, including her uncles and aunts).
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