The train pulled over at the crossing to a very disturbing sight.
Murgi was in her backyard, wailing and following a man wielding a knife in his hand. He pushed through viciously and took after her chickens.
The birds panicked and ran helter-skelter.
"Don't! Leave them alone!" She wept profusely and flitted after, trying to stop him.
"Fuck off!" he barked and smacked her out of his way.
Dev watched the scene from his train in horror. And so did everyone else.
"What the hell is going on?" he heard Kamal's voice from behind. He was standing on his toes, attempting to get a glimpse of what was happening across.
"I think he's going to kill it," he heard a woman comment.
"What a bastard!" said a few others.
Dev spotted many capturing the event on their phones instead of doing something.
A loud painful squawk made him look up once again.
The man had caught hold of one of the chickens. It flapped its wings madly.
"No! Not her! Leave her!" The Murgi screamed and threw herself in between him and the chicken.
Dev's heart skipped a beat when he recognized the chicken that was captured - Lajo.
Just then, a horn bellowed in the distance. It was the express train, and it was closing in fast. His brains and legs screamed in unison, 'do something!!!' But he couldn't move. He was frozen, overwhelmed with the fear of interfering in a stranger's personal life.
The express train was just three compartments away. A handful of seconds was all that he had to save Lajo. She must be saved. She was precious and very much loved.
"Don't! Don't!" She sobbed and tried to save Lajo.
Dev looked around desperately, hoping, praying that someone would make this stop. But no one lifted a finger. They just stood around and watched.
The neighbors who'd gathered around earlier, slowly disappeared into their houses as if it was none of their business.
The man twisted Lajo's head back and went for its throat.
Just as the express train closed in, Dev tumbled down his train and tore across the track.
***
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CROSSROADS
عاطفيةDev Choudhary, handsome, sophisticated, mid-thirties, always dodged the topic of marriage whenever his mother brought it up. Just as any parent would, she longed for him to have a family of his own. However, having carved a notion from his personal...
