One Summer Noon

"Damn it...Damn it...Damn it.. This ain't the time God" that’s what exactly he thought looking grumpily at his punctured cycle. "It is already 50 minutes past 10 grrr grrr !! " Cherry did the reckoning and he had exactly 25 minutes to rush to the station or else she would have gone...she would have gone for ever. No he wasn’t conceiving the thought to be another Shahrukh Khan running behind her, chasing the train; which the math suggested that since they were simultaneously running in same direction with the speed of train being more than him the probability that he would ever catch up was way too large beyond the boundaries of computational feasibility of modern day science. And by large you don’t expect a recently passed 10th grade student to do it.

She wasn’t even aware. The only thought that kept him looking out for a bicycle repair store was her resplendent face that kept propelling around his eyes. His last chance to see her ever. It was a bright summer day, scorching heat but what mattered then for him was that one last moment. Cherry was tired; he was profusely sweating; he was thirsty but his spirits never died. Ferrying a punctured bicycle wasn’t an easy task through the lowly streets where the half of it was shrouded by the fruits vendor and the rest half by the city daily trash. So figuratively speaking there was hardly any space left. Finally appeared a small, belittled mercantile establishment that repaired punctured tyres too. With a sense of gratification he approached the owner, "Bhaiyya can I get my bicycle repaired??"... "yeah ,but it will take some time; I am busy with the store account and chotu is oiling the toolkit" , the shop man answered in a bounderish tone.  " He could have been polite I wasn’t despoiling his store", He mumbled to himself. He wanted to kick him for his rudeness. He could have but then it wasn’t the time. Disparaging his agreement to his tone cherry spoke in a soft voice. "Bhaiya I am ready to pay double" "Aye chotu let go the toolkits mend that puncture first" , The guy shouted back. This time his tone had some wax. Cherry knew this would work because no one pays double for a bicycle puncture. Chotu looked at him as if he had offended his leisure hours. Who the hell cared?? Finally the bicycle was restored to its swinging condition. Cherry perceived the watch. It was 11:05 am which meant he had exactly 10 minutes before she would have left for ever; before the train would have departed. It wasn’t a time for the soliloquy.

Paying the store owner Cherry hurried through the narrow streets like some equestrian competing for a national level race. The Railway station wasn’t far enough. He parked the bicycle at the parking lot and hastened to the ticket counter. His dad always told him never to board a platform without a platform ticket. Well, what he saw did away his idea of buying the platform ticket. There was only one counter dedicated to the purchasing of platform ticket which had almost 40-60 people queued in. "Why the hell so many people have to come to station the very day arghhh !!" he spoke to himself. Cherry had to disobey  his dad. He had to disobey him for her.

For the first time cherry was tagging himself to the word WT. He was scared; he was afraid; what if he gets caught; how would he ever explain his dad the reason a 10th grade child was groping at the railway station. C'mon there weren't any relatives leaving. His Dubious parameter was seemingly growing at an alarming late."Well lets keep that for late hours",he mumbled to himself. The call of the hour was something else. Isn't  it strange how the love or the meager thought of it's warmth injects an adrenaline into human soul. "Oops that is a crowded platform....Are there so many people really travelling.. … How will I find her?? " Cherry looked at the watch it was just 2 minutes for train to depart. He had priorities then. Serious ones. "S5.. This is S5 so right or left which way should I prefer .. Where would the AC compartments be stationed ??" He had so many questions to solve. "Damn… the boards were simple to crack", he thought…"Uncle , could you tell where the AC compartments are positioned today??" he asked a man peeping out of the window. With the kind of look he had cherry deduced uncle was figuring out a place to spit; and more importantly the typo he looked [means early 50's, frowned head] Cherry was sure he wouldn’t answer him straight. "I don’t know…Y don’t you mind your business kid." Cherry was expecting it. He strolled ahead still trying to figure out "Right ya left ?? " He turned around to find himself a stall which read "One stop door". "What the fu…??", Oops sorry in those days a recently passed 10th grade child never used that word. "what kind of title it is for a stall that sells cold drinks and water", the name kinda struck him. But then he had the least of time in the world to start researching on it. A deviation of 10 degree from his normal line of vision.. And there she was. He was elated like young kid who just found out that he can still have his share of ice - cream despite the fact that his parents proscribed it from his menu.

Cherry followed her stealthily. 3 bogies to his right was positioned the compartment. She boarded in and the train started moving like a lazy snail. "Hey", he shouted . The rattling sound of the train killed his voice. She was waving her hand to her grand parents. He started walking behind the train. She went in. He thought he might catch up one last chance to see her. He started doubling, trying to get a sneak through the window, but the windows were painted black. "Damn the AC coaches", he thought. He could barely see anything. He kept doubling. Cherry thought she just saw him though the windows that just passed by his side. He slowed down; He had overrun the platform. The train had gained momentum. He kept waving his hand. "Probably she saw me .. May be she didn’t.. May be she did.. May be not …" That’s what his mind was acting on[No wonder they always seem to be on some equations] as far his heart was concerned it was happy; it was smiling. It wanted to see her for the last time...to bid "Good bye.." for the one last time...