It's Complicated

Chapter 1: The Night Begins

The sky-blue kurti kissed my body perfectly as I swayed the white dupatta around my shoulder and donned a pair of silver jumkaas. I reached Malad station at 10 p.m. and stood on the platform right where Hanish had directed me-according to their coach. Hanish and his best friend had boarded the train from Borivali station and we had a long way to go ahead.

It was getting hot and my light makeup felt like melting off. I dabbed my face with my dupatta, my eyes glued to the point from where the train would arrive and my heart skipped a beat in excitement.

What will he be wearing? A kurta?

I thought with a rapid heart. It was my first ever night out in the city of Mumbai, one of the safest and the most happening cities of India. I was finally ticking off a wish from my bucket list, the wish of seeing the nightlife of this city. It is the place that never sleeps and I could see this on the station that was crowded at a time where most of the world was asleep by now.

The train arrived, turning my breath shallow for the night I was about to witness, I rushed to board the coach but couldn't find Hanish standing at the gate as he had promised. Amongst the hotch-potch of the local crowd at a time when it is expected to be nearly empty, it was crowded for the festival. Adorned in traditional Indian attires, families, and groups of friends were all going to pray to the king of almighty, Lord Ganesha. Hopefully, he will fulfill my wish this year and I will get the answers to my unsettled emotions.

Even though the coach was different, I knew that the train was right. So I did not get down and kept texting him the details of my surroundings.

"Where are you?" I asked him on the call, standing in between the crowd of sweating men. My makeup had already been spoiled by the humidity as it was the rainy season.

Hanish again explained to me their coach. I asked the men around me if it was the correct coach as per his description but we couldn't understand. I was muddled, they were confused, I couldn't find him anywhere and now he was also getting annoyed from checking me on every platform at each stop.

"Leave it now, we are just two stations away, I'll meet you guys there," I told him, sweating in the crowd that didn't subside even after so many stations.

Not only my gut was boiling at his dumb explanation of the coach but also embarrassed. Having been born in this city and traveled by its lifeline for more than a decade now, this misunderstanding was awkward to face his friends.

I got down at Dadar station and still couldn't find Hanish. After a long argument on the call, we understood that he had said the third gate and I reached the third coach.

Finally, I saw his tall and sleek figure walking towards me and I burst at him right when he reached me, "Who says the gate number? Will I stand there counting the gates of a running train? You should have explained which coach number you guys are in!" I breathed deeply.

He showed me his palms, trying to calm me down, "Chill, it is okay now, let's go..." he said slowly but I was furious at how dumb he could be.

After a pause of a few seconds, I said, "I don't want to meet your friends now!" My brows were narrowed down to its extreme as the crowd passed by from both sides.

"Come on now, it was a misunderstanding! They are standing there near the bridge, let's go quickly!"

"It is so embarrassing, Hanish! All because of your dumb explanation!"

"Forget it! They won't even think of it!"

"They would! That how dumb..."

"Chill!" He held my shoulders but I moved back, dodging his hands off of me.