Sometimes strangers are not really strangers !
Sounds insane right ? Well here goes the explaination ...
It was mid November last year . A very cold evening in Kolkata . An unmarried twenty something woman , a schoolteacher by profession , struggling to board an overcrowded bus during rush hour - that's me ! Diyali Pradhan . Although it was cold I was still panting and sweating as I ran almost half an mile from my school gate , not to miss the bus which I took to my house daily .
But that day , for some reason the bus was unusually crowded . Also I couldn't come out from school on time due to some extra work , for which I had to run an mile . As I'd anticipated , I missed my bus . Quite irritated - as I hate to wait for buses or trains , or anything - I stood in the shade waiting for the next bus , when a male voice quite surprised me .
' Can you please tell me which bus I should board to reach barrackpore ?'
He was standing beside me - a handsome man , almost my age . He was dressed neatly in a white shirt and blue jeans - the attire I feel guys look best in - and his ruffling curly hairs tied in any ponytail in prefect way . He looked stunning .
' I am going the same way . You can board the bus I am waiting for '. I don't know why I gave such a weird reply rather than telling him the bus number . Maybe I didn't want to lose his company so soon . Loneliness can make you do unusual things sometimes , I tell you .
' Oh ! Thank you so much ! ' he replied gratefully . ' Actually I am just one month old in the city ,' he added .
I hadn't asked for an explanation ! But whatever it may be , I liked that he told me . I don't know why .
' Oh ! So you are not from Kolkata ? Well in that case , welcome to the city of joy ,' I added with a sweet smile .
' Actually , I was born here but I left Kolkata when I was eight years old as my dad shifted to Hyderabad on account of his job ,' he corrected hastily .
' Then let me correct myself . Welcome back '
' Ya , thanks ! By the way I'm Avi ', he extended his hand towards me .
I was stunned for a few seconds . This was my usual reaction whenever I came across the name 'Avi' as it was very Close to my heart .
' And you?' He asked quite surprised by my reaction .
' Oh ! Hi , I am Diya ,' I replied quickly and shook his hands . I don't know why I hid my full name . Maybe because he was a stranger .
' Nice name ' , I added
' I think they should have been my line ' he winked and we smiled .
~~~~~~~~
' Avi ' my best buddy at school . Avigyan Ray . It's a very common story . It all started with a big fight on the first day itself owing to a seat . He had occupied my usual seat on the first bench I had , quite predictably , started fighting with him . But he had to give in due to my popularity in the class and also my position as the monitor . But it didn't end there . After that day we become regular fighters . We used to fight with each other on every small or big thing . Our fights didn't seem to end until our teachers vowed to end it and put us together in the same science project . Our destiny had made us work together but still there was no end to our fights . Our views and ideas contradictory , quite obviously . It was only when the last date of submission approached that we realised it was time to work more and fight less . To everyone's surprise - and mostly both of ours - we achieved the highest score in the project .
Everyone congratulated us . It was when we realised that we could be friends too if we stopped fighting . Quite surprisingly and unexpectedly , we become friends . Our fights stopped . The teachers heaved sighs of relief . Within a few months , we become very good frnds . We used to sit together , share our tiffins and notes , go home together , play together , work together , have fun together . As if there was on one else in the class . My old frnds were very jealous of him . Slowly we become the best of friends - the inseparable ones . So much so that the whole class started teasing us for our ' Chemistry ' - some jokingly and some out of jealousy .
It was all going well till the news of our unbreakable bond reaches to his parents . It is worth mentioning here that he came from a very conservative family . So his parents took our relationship - rather our frndship - too seriously . Very shockingly he left the school - in fact he was forced to leave in the very next session . Four years of fighting , working , sharing , having fun - all came to end at once , and that too without any prior warning . I lost my best buddy . It was like I'd lost myself . It changed me and my life totally . Thereafter I had frnds - but no best friend . Too scared to be close again with someone .
I lost all contact with him since then . I even didn't know where he went for how many days , or even whether he would come back some day or not . I had so many questions to ask and so many answers to get ...
~~~~~~~~~
My bus - or our bus , actually - arrived . An almost half filled bus . I took an corner seat and he , as expected , followed me and sat beside me .
' So you are a teacher in that school ?' He inquired .
' Ya ! Biology teacher ', was my reply .
' Oh , biology ! How much I hated this subject during my school days .'
' Hmm ! That's quite usual for boys ,' I said reluctantly .
' So , What do you do ?' This was my first question to him .
' Well , I am a software engineer at a private firm in Hyderabad ,' he replied .
' So you came here for holidays ?' I asked , getting curious .
' We don't have holidays like you , ma'am . I just got transferred .'
' Okay , then you must be feeling happy , coming back to your birthplace almost after fifteen years ?' I asked .
' Tell me something , do you know astrology or something like that ?' He asked quite curiously .
' No . And why are you asking that ?' I inquired .
' Then I must say I am quite impressed by your guessing power ', he winked again .
' I didn't get you '.
' I am back to Kolkata after exactly fifteen years', he explained .
' Oh ! I see '
' A smart way to know someone's age ! Thank you so much for teaching me this . I am definitely going to use it someday on someone else ,' he joked and we laughed again .
' But it was really unintentional ', I clarified .
' Come on , it's cool ', he said .
' Where do you live ?' He started again after some minutes pause .
I told him my stop , and also informed that it was just three stops before his stop .
' Oh , that's great . Then I will have a good company throughout my way ', he smiled , then continued ' I hope I am not being a bore . Actually , I enjoy chatting . It's one of my
habits ', he winked again .
' And winking after every few minutes is another ', I thought to myself . I was glad to discover one of the habits of a stranger whom I met hardly half an hour ago .
' Oh , no , not at all ', I said . ' Rather , I am also enjoying this conversation . Every day I go home alone . Only my phone's music list accompanies me . At least this is different journey from usual one '. It was true that I was enjoying his company .
' So you listen to songs daily on your way home ?'
' Not only way home . I listen to it whenever I am free , whenever I feel lonely . I love music . It's my best friend !' I replied , wondering what question he would throw next on the topic of best frnds .
' Which songs do you listen to ?' His question was not on the track I expected .
' Any soft melodious Song - Hindi or English , doesn't matter . But it should be soft and foot - tapping . Not something like rock or pop ', I said .
' And your favourite singer ?'
' Not one . But Sonu Nigam , Shreya Ghoshal are my most favourite . And yours ?' Now was my turn to ask .
' A.R . Rahman , the one and only ', he responded quickly .
' So you live here in barrackpore ?' I asked
' Ya , actually I am going to stay with my mom . My dad is still in Hyderabad . I'd gone to an uncle place in Jadavpur . I was returning when I met you ', he explained ' And you live here with your family right ?' He then asked , becoming more inquisitive .
' Ya , me and my parents . But I have an elder sister too . She is married and stays in Salt lake', I told him .
' So when are you planning to get married ?' Was his next bolt from the blue .
' Well I think it will happen exactly at the time when it's destined ', I became philosophical .
He smiled and I bade him goodbye as it was time for me to get off .
' See you soon ' ! He added which left me wondering for the next few minutes as to how we were going to meet again .
_____________To be continued _____
Heyya ppl !
So here is another one shot
Hope you'll like it ..
let's see what happens next in Avi and Diyali's life ..
will they be remained strangers .. !
Till then Byy
Love Sonaa ❤️
