Love Beyond Goodbye

The Train Encounter

Gunjan was visiting Kashvi's (cousin) hometown for her wedding.

She, along with her brother, mom and a few relatives boarded the train.

She had somehow convinced her dad to let her go to the wedding, which led to a lot of arguments between them. As a result, she was feeling pretty annoyed and frustrated by the situation.

In their midst was Mohit, who joined them on the train. She didn't recognize him, to her, it was their very first encounter.

(A little backstory:
Mohit's sister Somya is Kashvi's childhood best friend. Mohit was originally living in Mumbai, but he was in Nagpur (Gunjan's hometown) running some errands. So, everyone insisted he board the train directly from Nagpur with Gunjan's family.)

Gunjan, naturally, opted for the window seat, finding solace in the scenic view outside. Mohit was sitting infront of her.
While the elders were chit-chatting and the children were playing among themselves, she was occupied with gazing out of the window.
Nonetheless, she could sense Mohit stealing glances at her from the corner of her eye. She refrained from meeting his gaze, as it would have felt awkward.

However, when the train halted at the first station, everyone got off to purchase snacks, but Gunjan abstained.
Later, when everyone reboarded the train, Mohit took the seat beside her.

He offered her an icecream.

Gunjan: 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺 , 𝘯𝘩𝘪 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘩𝘪𝘺𝘦.

Mohit(smiles): 𝘈𝘢𝘱𝘬𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘺𝘦 𝘩𝘪 𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘯.

Gunjan accepts the ice cream, a smile gracing her lips as she utters a heartfelt thank you.

Mohit: 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭.

Her smile broadens.

Mohit: 𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭. 𝘉𝘶𝘵, 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘳.

Gunjan gave him a puzzled look as she wasn't used to compliments.

Mohit: 𝘉𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘦?

Gunjan: 𝘕𝘩𝘪... 𝘈𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘢𝘱 𝘬𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘺𝘢 𝘏𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘢𝘵 𝘬𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦? 𝘐𝘵𝘯𝘪 𝘌𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘯𝘩𝘪 𝘢𝘢𝘵𝘪 𝘮𝘶𝘫𝘩𝘦.

Mohit(smiles) : 𝘖𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺.

Mohit: 𝘔𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘢𝘱𝘬𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘬𝘩𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘢...𝘢𝘢𝘱 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘩𝘰 𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘬𝘩𝘦𝘭 𝘳𝘩𝘪 𝘵𝘩𝘪. 𝘚𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘢𝘵 𝘬𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘳 𝘫𝘢𝘣𝘵𝘢𝘬 𝘮𝘢𝘪 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘢 𝘢𝘢𝘱 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘪 𝘨𝘢𝘪 𝘵𝘩𝘪.

Gunjan: 𝘖𝘩....𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘩𝘢 𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘩𝘢.

Mohit extended his hand for a handshake, introducing himself, "𝘉𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘔𝘰𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘳𝘢 " and they both shook hands.

Gunjan: 𝘐'𝘮 𝘎𝘶𝘯𝘫𝘢𝘯

Mohit(smiles) : 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸.

Gunjan: 𝘈𝘢𝘱 𝘮𝘶𝘫𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘫𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦 𝘩𝘰?

Mohit(while laughing) : 𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘬𝘩𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪 𝘯𝘦 𝘬𝘩𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘳 𝘥𝘪 𝘵𝘩𝘪.

Gunjan gave him a puzzled look, then Mohit mentioned that one of her cousins had informed him about her.

They both spent the next few hours deep in conversation, delving into discussions about their lives, families, and future aspirations.

Gunjan drifted off to sleep during their conversation, only to be gently awakened by Mohit, who held her finger and softly urged her to wake up, informing her that they had reached their destination.

Upon reaching the destination, the battle commenced between them. Who's going to carry the luggage? He was firm about carrying her bags. She was equally determined. Gunjan's sister then chimed in, asking Gunjan to carry her bags instead, leading to laughter among them.

Kashvi's father had already arranged a car for their transportation to the hotel. Mohit,the only one among them with driving expertise, took the wheel. As he navigated the vehicle, his gaze occasionally drifted towards Gunjan, all while still giggling about the previous incident.

The car ride was filled with laughter and jokes, creating a joyful atmosphere as they bonded over shared stories and moments, cherishing the newfound connection between them. They continued to share stories and laughter, creating memories that would last a lifetime.