METRO STATION, PUNE

March 2011

His eyes were still the same, and so was his expression. Narrowing his big brown eyes, Piyush stared back at me. A small frown appeared on her forehead, and I came crashing back to the reality from the world of memories.

Ask him to move away as your metro card is lying under his shoes, the sensible part of my brain suggested, but as always, my eyes refused to budge, and my mouth would not open to utter even a single sound, let alone words.

He tilted his head a little towards the left and raised his hand to check his watch, indicating that he was running late for something too. Finally, I gathered some willpower and pointed towards his shoes, trying to recover my voice and find some words. It had only been three months, but it felt as if it was ages ago when I last saw his exquisite face. Piyush had left Nani's place as soon as he finished college.

' His dad has bought him a flat somewhere in Mayur Vihar'. This was the last piece of information Zarah gave me about him two months ago. Finally, after much struggling, my vocal cords decided to work.

Phew! my mind said, and then bit it's tongue.

'Hehehe,' an awkward, funny giggle escaped from my mouth. Where had that come from? I wondered, and quickly tried to do some damage control by uttering the word 'Card' very meekly.

' Card' What card? ' he asked, looking every bit the annoyed stud that he was.

I decided not to say anything more at that moment. Not your day, Adira. I pointed towards his shoes again, and his eyes followed my finger. He looked down at his shoes and then back at me again. Does he not remember me? It has just been three months!

' Hold on, yaar , there is . . . ' he paused and looked at me from top to toe before addressing me, 'What is it, Adira?' He remembers me! I lost my voice once more, this time in excitement. ' Let me call you back once I get into the metro,' he told the person on the other end of the phone. I was looking at him precisely three months and knew nothing about his present circumstances, yet I hoped that he was talking to a boy and not a girl.

This is your chance, Adira, to make a new start with him. You just have to confidently ask him to let you pick up that metro card from under his shoes. He will be so sorry when he realizes that he wasted your time, and then maybe you guys can start talking, be friends.

Status Check: air castle building, work in progress.

' Just . . . Just my card,' I said once again.

'Oh, okay,' he said, looking cluelessly in the direction of his shoes again. Ask him out for a coffee. A date? No, that would be a little too desperate. Or maybe just take his number today-----I was still contemplating.

Before I could think of how to ask him out, or maybe strike up a conversation, my happy plans came under a bus called reality, because he had already turned his back on me and was walking up the stairs. The blue plastic card lay at the bottom of the stairs silently witnessing my misery. I picked it up hastily and followed Piyush inside the metro station.

Our accidental encounter set off a series of flashbacks in my head, running on a loop. I recalled each and every thing as if it happened just yesterday. I followed him inside and spotted his walking towards the booth for security checks. There was a long queue at the women's security check booth, While only two other males stood in line ahead of Piyush. He was done with the frisking within moments, while I stood Sandwiched between other women waiting for my turn; not taking my eyes off him. I saw his walk towards the entry door, swipe his metro card and then make a phone call as soon as he was inside. He did not appear to be in a hurry to board the train, and at that point relief ran over me.

Finally, it was my turn to be checked by a middle-aged police women who looked bored of her job. I stood on the podium with my arms stretched out. She ran a metal detector all over my body and then let me pass. I picked up my laptop from the stack of bags on the X-ray machine and dashed towards the entry door. Please, God, please make this card have enough money to take me inside, I prayed hard, and to my surprise, my prayers were answered. Turns out that it was indeed my card!

Once inside the metro station, I took slow steps and crossed him without looking at him. As I went past him, I inhaled deeply a sweet fragrance enveloping him. He smelled like a cocktail of scents---a blend of his shampoo, a purple mist, and his favourite body wash from the body shop. How do I know all this? Well, I had gone shopping with him many times during the last three years. Not precisely with him through; he used to go shopping with his friend----Rohit -- every other month and I used to drag Zarah to the same places. Stalking? No, it was more like birdwatching for Zarah and a one sided date for me.

I took the escalators for my metro towards Connaught Place, hoping that he would do the same. The opposite platform was where the train for Vaishali arrived. While I took my place on the icy- cold bench of the platform. I calculated that even if he boarded the train for Vaishali, I would be able to see him one more time. I secretly wished he would come to the same platform though.

Onc after the other, five metro trains halted and left for Connaught place. I was no longer worried about being late for my job, because I was sure that by now my manager must have typed my termination letter and I had no job. I was only going to be late to collect my termination letter for skipping work without informing anyone. It is okay; it is just a job, I told my troubled mind, which was already thinking of the consequences my foolishness would bring my way. Nothing is more important than my Love of two years---- one-sided love of two years----I corrected my own statement, and that was when the worried started making sense.

I decided to get on the next train and go to the office. The clock on the platform showed it would be arriving in another two minutes. Two minutes ----he can still come to the platform at any moment, I thought, and hoped he would board the same train as me. The train decided to suprise the clock and me and arrived one minute earlier than expected. I looked at my phone to distract myself from the disappointment. No missed call or messages from anyone, not even from work.

The door opened, and I squeezed myself in along with many others. Miraculously, I managed to get a seat right next to the door since I happened to be there as a person was getting off. I parked myself like a rock there. The announcement for the closing of the doors played inside the train, and I turned my head to look out for him one last time.

I blinked my eyes in disbelief as I saw Piyush running towards the train I was in. He rushed into the men's compartment with someone next to him just before the doors closed, and we began our journey. The train moved slowly and then picked up speed, matching my heartbeats. I got up from my seat and found myself making my way to the compartment next to the one where Piyush was.

It didnt take me long to find him in the maddening crowd. His back was towards me taking with someone moving his hands and head animatedly. Leaning against a pole, I smiled like an idiot----running back and forth in time. I resolved to get off at the same station as his and talk to him, finally!

The train crossed station after station and reached Rajiv Chowk. I was supposed to get down there, and I did because Piyush and his friend got down at the same location. I hoped that his friend would leave him so that could talk to him, but I guess that was too much to expect. Another idea came crashing down when his friend took off that hideous, cloth from his face which he must have used as a shield against the pollution in Pune. It was Rohit!