1 The Meeting

It was a sunny afternoon, the clock was showing 4 pm and he was walking in the room. He was looking tensed and in a deep thought. He had a job interview in the morning and was to be informed in the evening for the final results. He was eagerly waiting for the call, and suddenly, the phone rings. He picked up and said "Hello". The voice came from other end, "Dear Mr. Abby, Please call this number to know your result and further discussion". He noted the number in a hurry on his hands. The call got disconnected. He then looked at his palm and found that the number noted had a mistake. He forgot to note the last digit. He then took a deep breath and dialed the number with last digit as "0".

As the call got connected, he could hear the ringing on the other side, his hands were shaking. The person on the other side picked up the call and said "Hello". It was a female, with a sweet and soothing voice. As soon as he heard the voice, he got a sensation and all his nerves got a tingling feeling. With shaky lips he asked "Is this the office of Param Industries Ltd., I want to talk about the interview I had faced today morning." "No this is not Param Industries Ltd., you might have dialed a wrong number" she replied. He was upset a little, but was tempted to talk to the beautiful voice, so he inquired further. "To whom this number belongs to, I'm Abby and I got the number noted incorrectly." Meanwhile, the girl on the other side had disconnected the call. He was upset further, he got tempted to call again and listen to the voice but then remembered about the interview. He quickly dialed the number with last digit as "1". And bingo, it was the office of Param Industries. He got to know that he was selected at the last minute of finalization and has to join within a week. He was happy. He thought her voice was lucky for him.

But, amidst the happy feelings, there was a feeling of restlessness, a feeling of incompleteness. He informed everyone in family and friends about his selection, but still he felt like someone is still remaining. He the slept but still throughout the night, only one thought lingered his mind. The female on the wrong number, her voice has touched his soul and went so much deep into his heart. The next morning he woke up early, and got ready to go to the office to complete the pre joining formalities. He came near the telephone, and dialed the wrong number. No one answered. He re-dialed, almost the end of the ring, she picked up. "Hello, who is this?" she said in a hurry. His heartbeats increased, his hands and lips were shaking. He replied in a shaking low dull voice "Hello madam, this is Abby; yesterday I called you wrongly for my interview purpose. I want to share that I have been selected for the job." "Congratulations" she said in a soft tone. "I felt that I should inform you, and I also know that it doesn't bother you whether you know it or not." He added with confidence. She said "It's okay, best of luck for your future" and the call got disconnected.

He then resumed his day and went to office, did the formalities and back home. He felt relaxed, and at the same time was feeling restless. He wanted to talk more. It became the daily routine then for them to have 3-4 line conversations. He was a 24 year old boy with a good job and a good family, whereas, on the other hand she was a 21 year old girl who just completed her studies and was helping mom in kitchen as well as helping dad by taking tuition class at home for primary level kids. As the days passed, they exchanged more information about each other, got to know more about each other, got to understand each other. A level of bonding reached which has no name, no reality, just voices.

That was a day, and this day, they have got so close that even on phone, they could make out that the opposite person is happy or sad or anything. The relation grew stronger. "Can I come to meet you some day if you don't mind" he asked. There was a silence. She was not having words. She said "I don't know" and disconnected the call. He got upset and worried, has he asked a wrong question, had he been so desperate and so foolish. These thoughts mingled his mind day and night. They didn't talk for a week then. Then on Saturday evening, he got a call. It was her, "Can you come tomorrow to Tarapur, and I will wait for you." He was surprised and couldn't hold his hear back and neither speak, in a trembling voice he said "Yes, I will". He then confirmed that the train will reach tarapur station by 4:15 pm. She said she will be waiting here as it is a small station with just 2 platforms. The decided the identification. He was to wear a blue t-shirt and blue jeans, and she was to get dressed in a white dress with a red scarf. The day ended, but the enthusiasm both were feeling was a never ending one. He got up early, took a bath and boarded the train. It was an 8 hour journey. Before leaving he gave a call to her and confirmed the meeting once again. The train started, as the train got speeded, his heartbeats were also speeding up.

She was happy, at the same time, confused. She made up her mind, got ready as per decided code and walked her way through the streets of tarapur to the railway station. She reached at 4 pm and got to know that the train was late by one hour. She sat on a bench and was looking at the crowd moving around. As she sat on the bench, her eyes felt a bit heavy and she slipped into a nap as it was cold breeze there and a lovely atmosphere around.

She was dreaming about the meeting. Her wrist watch showed 5:30 pm and the train arrived. She got up to see the person whom she was supposed to meet. She couldn't see any one. Her eyes were searching him everywhere. On the door of a sleeper class coach, he could see a guy helping an old lady moving her luggage out. She went there. Their eyes meet, and heart said "yeah, that's the one". There was no need of any verbal confirmation or any kind of proof. It was him and her. The horn of the train blew, and the eyes meet got disturbed. The old lady witnessed the meeting of two hearts and could make out the matter. They both helped her move her luggage to the door and also get a vehicle to her destination. The old lady while seating in the taxi said "God keep you two together always" and she departed. They looked into each other's eyes and started smiling. Suddenly they hold each other's hands and started running. They ran through the platform over the track. Kept on running until they were tired and out of breathe. They stopped somewhere on the railway track. There was no one around, and also it was a little dark now. The winds got colder and the moon was rising. They were looking into each other's eyes. They could feel nothing but the only feeling of extreme happiness. "Thanks for coming" she said holding his both hands. Their heart beats were rising, and amidst the heartbeats, they couldn't sense the vibration of train arriving on the track. They couldn't make out the place where they were standing, as for them they were lost into each other's eyes. They could see nothing, hear nothing, and feel nothing, just lost into each other's eyes. The train was arriving and got closer and closer. They also thought to come closer, but.... Before they could, the train arrived on the track on which the boy was standing, and with a full force thrashed him away throwing the girl on the side in the bushes. There was nothing left; the train snatched him away from her hands. Her white dress was covered with blood all over. Before she could understand, everything was finished with a moment. After some time she got to her senses and found herself in the bushes; she somehow managed to get up and searched for him. She was crying and screaming; she was just helpless. She ran madly here and then, falling and getting up and again falling. She was searching him everywhere, but couldn't find him. She then screamed badly with all her might ...….. And suddenly she got up...… she got up in a shock and came to know that it was a dream.

She looked at the watch and it showed 5:30 pm. She remembered the dream, and started searching for him. She felt numb, her heart was throbbing hard. She got to see the old lady struggling with her luggage and a guy in blue helping her. For a moment, she decided not to go and meet him as she had a bad dream, but, their eyes met from a distance and she couldn't go back. She helped the old lady too, move her luggage same as in her dreams. She felt she knew what next is going to happen. The old lady wished them good bye and she got more nervous. As her grabbed her hand, she got goose bumps, her body was shivering, her lips were trembling in fear, her eyes were wet. He saw her, and took her to the nearest bench and made her sit there. She felt that something different form the dream has happened and tried to control her feelings and come back to normal senses. He asked "Why you are so nervous, are you okay. You look so dull and tensed. Is everything alright?"

"Nothing, I just had a bad dream before you arrived." She explained. She narrated the whole story of her dreams and started crying. He wiped her tears. She said "I don't want to lose you. I can't let you die". He looked at her eyes, holds her hands, and said "I have died 50 years back". She was taken aback, her body freeze, her hands started trembling, and with a shaky voice she asked , "Then how come you are here in front of me talking to me like this if you are dead 50 years back. Don't do such pranks". He replied, "Because, I promised that I will be with you always, no matter whatever happens." He then sat on the floor on his knees, leaned towards her to kiss her forehead. She closed her eyes, and felt the kiss with his hands holding her hands.

She then opened her eyes, and found the same crowd moving around; but couldn't find him. She was feeling the cold as she was getting old now. Her wrinkled face and dull eyes narrated the story. She has been feeling this dream, about the incomplete meeting with the guy for past 50 years on the same date. She stood up balancing herself with the help of a stick and started walking down the dark streets. She slowly disappeared into the dark promising herself to come back next year on the same date on the same time and at the same place. Although she couldn't spend life with her love, but her feeling for him is still alive and she is determined to live with it.