Travelling in the 08:09 Churchgate Fast Local I caught from Andheri, I was on my way home. After a night of fond nostalgia and mad fun with my best friends from school, it was time to come back to reality. I checked my Google Calendar.
Sunday, June 26
10:00am Event Meeting at Charni Road
12:30pm Presentation at College in Dadar
15:00pm Family Reunion at Borivali
Yes, it was a Sunday and yes, I voluntarily agreed to do this. Running short on my internet plan, I decided to just look around to pass the time. The sound of heavy snores caught my attention, I turned right to see who it was. There sat an old uncle, probably in his eighties, snoring away to glory.
I sighed and started looking around. A man probably in his mid-thirties, sitting all alone at the end of the compartment caught my attention. He had occupied the window seat and was staring into the window as if he was reflecting upon something. I could see anger and aggression in his eyes, the pessimist inside me started to wonder. "Doesn't he look quite similar to those 26/11 terrorists? What is he so angry about?" Maybe he was just having a bad day, maybe he was dealing with big problems in his life but my mind refused to give up. Why is he sitting all alone? What's with that black bag above him? Can it be a? It...it does look big enough to fit one. Nobody around him looked like the owner of that bag. "Holy Shit!" I said to myself. Could that bag...contain a bomb? Could he be blowing up the entire compartment? I should call the authorities and inform them. But wait, I need to be sure first. I continued to observe him.
As soon as we arrived at Bandra Station, he popped out of his thoughts. He immediately checked his phone, as if he was waiting for someone to send him some instructions. He looked around to see who all boarded the train. The more I observed, the more conclusions I started to draw. Should I just get off the train? That's the only way I will be alive to tell this story to someone. While I was contemplating getting of the train, my phone buzzed. It was my girlfriend, who I was sure had some gossip about one of her friends. I decided not to answer, I had a task at hand. Besides, I had better things to do than listen to how Neha broke up with her boyfriend for the umpteenth time. This unnecessary interruption, resulted in the train starting to move and the loss of maybe my only chance to stay alive. "Dadar is a crowded station, maybe he will wait for those guys to board before blowing it up?" I said to myself. He went back to his thoughts.
Dadar arrived and I was still alive. Despite it being a Sunday, a large number of people got inside the train making the compartment noisy and lively. "This is it," I said to myself. The train started moving as we were heading towards our deaths. The train started moving at a fast pace and so did my heart beat. The man was on his phone now, carefully reading something. Could it be the instructions to blow up the train? No no it's just my mind. No it's not, you know he's got a bomb!
The train was heading towards Mumbai Central now. Surely if he wants to blow up the train, it will be now. He was still at his seat. Maybe he has a remote controlled bomb, maybe it has a timer on it said the pessimist in me.
The train now started to slow down and I was left confused. Why haven't we blown up into a thousand flaming pieces yet? Is he looking to get off the train and then blow it up? While my mind was occupied with these thoughts, the train slowly entered into Platform No 4 of Mumbai Central Station. The sound of the platform announcer was like music to my ears. A rather skinny man sitting diagonally to the alleged bomber, got up as the station arrived. He went towards the bomber and pointed towards the bag. The "bomber" removed the bag which had the "bomb" from the overhead storage and handed it over to the skinny man who then exited the train. And me? I just sat there in shock thinking about everything that just happened. What was I thinking? I went from thinking about blowing up into a thousand pieces to wondering if I am mentally unstable. In the meantime, my destination, Grant Road Station arrived.
I disembarked on the station platform leaving behind my pessimism as the train of thoughts continued its journey.
YOU ARE READING
THE TEEN TOWN
غير روائيWhat is teenage life if not a series of emotions that help explore your path as an adult. This book contains a unique journey of different individuals who have navigated that phase.
