SHE FELL IN LOVE

It was a winter night when I was waiting at a station for the last train of the day. I, Fahan, work at an IT company. That day, after the office, I sat at the station looking at the trains passing by. I wanted to get back home, but all that was stopping me from doing so was my condition. I had broken up with my girlfriend two days ago. Though I loved her very much, there had been some things which could've never been sorted out. For those two days, I didn't really talk to anyone; neither at my home, nor at the office. That day, after the office I thought that I needed to spend some time with myself, let that be at an empty station. But I couldn't have gone back home with this face.

I was busy thinking about Riya for so long that I didn't notice that it was almost 11:00 at night. I was at the New Alipore station, which, at night, looked quite horrible. The station wasn't completely covered, so the darkness of the night could've been felt by anyone with his normal senses. And in winter, it would reach another level of elementary. Half the station was covered with fog, which was preventing me from looking at the other end of the station. And the fact that I was the only one there scared me quite a bit. I was scared of Jinns from my childhood. I had heard many stories of Jinns from my dadiji. She used to tell me stories every weekend, and mostly, stories of Jinns. And I would always cover my ears with my hands, but would keep it that much open for the words to enter into my ears. One day Dadiji laughed at me and said, 'Beta, whenever you are scared of Jinns, you must recite Ayatul-Kursi. For Allah will protect you from the evil of the Jinn and the Shayatin. And if you ever see or meet any Jinn, don't be scared. For they can make themselves visible to the people they want. And there's always a reason.' I never mistrusted her. And being a Muslim, I had a strong belief that this will surely work; so after that whenever I've been scared, I've recited the 255th verse of the 2nd chapter of Qur'an, Ayatul-Kursi.

But that night, I didn't recite that verse, as I thought that I didn't have to recite it. The Jinns wouldn't come out on that cold night to attack me. I was sitting on a bench, wearing a jacket and a muffler round my neck, and kept rubbing my hands against each other. There was an announcement of the train's departure from Sealdah, so I had almost thirty more minutes to sit there. Sitting there alone didn't seem to be a good idea that time, because it kept reminding me of Riya. How she used to keep her head on my shoulder and tell me about her day, sitting on that same bench. She would ask me if I was ok or not. And if she would ever find me disappointed, she would never smile before me. But that day, she saw me sitting on the bench, but didn't even look at me before getting on the train. She was probably hiding her tears.

As I thought about all these, a drop of salted water came out of my eye. I refuse to call it "a drop of tear" because I don't want to accept that I was crying.

'You're all right?'

I felt a shiver run down my spine. Who would talk to me in an empty station? I quickly raised my head to see who was there. But I wasn't expecting what I saw.

'I'm sorry, I may have frightened you.' She said, A fair lady stood right In front of me, with a stretched arm towards me. She was offering me a hanky. That girl wore a white dress long enough to cover her feet, and let her untied hairs waved like a swan's quill in a splendid wind. Her arms were adorned with glittering bracelets. And her beautiful bright fingers were reddened by the colour of mehendi.

'No no, it's okay. I actually didn't see you coming. Please take a seat.' I took the hanky from her and made space for her to sit. 'I'm Fahan, nice to meet you.'

'Umm, hmm.' She sat down next to me. Though she lowered her head, I could see her smile through her hair. Her face was as bright as a pearl that just came out of a shell. And it looked way more beautiful with a smile. 'I am Afsaana. I saw you sitting here and crying from the other end of the station, so I thought it'd be nice to give you some company.'