“8, 16…32, 33,34…. 35, huh! 35”, I dropped my luggage on the floor.
“Arun .. Arun.. here” I waved to my friend. He was carrying another huge bag of mine. It was the winter holidays and I was going home. So this much luggage was expected.
“Which one?” Arun asked
“35”, I replied.
“But 35 is mine”, A young lady spoke at once.
“B4 35. It’s mine” I showed her the ticket.
“Mine also is B4 35”, she also showed me the ticket.
“How come is it possible? Your ticket is fake see the Indian Rail logo is not visible”, I am sure.
“Jijaji has booked my ticket from the counter, yours is fake. It’s only a printed copy” She pushed her opinion.
I was not going to listen to her. I pushed my luggage under the seat and tied them together with a chain.
“Let the TTE arrive”, I put the key in my pocket making it clear that I am going nowhere.
Others were also surprised to see that both of us had a ticket for the same seat.
An old uncle could not wait any longer, so he intervened in the matter, “Does it say RAC on your ticket?”
We both spoke at the same time “No.”
Arun asked me for my ticket and once I gave it to him, he vanished without uttering a word.
I made myself comfortable, no one said anything.
Arun returned and asked me to take out the luggage.
“Why? Where did you go?” I asked Arun without moving an inch.
“I got out of the train to check if your name is in the reservation list but ..” Arun was in the middle of a sentence when the girl spoke up “It’s not there. I told you, it’s my seat.
She giggled as if she had won a battle. I am not going to buy that and looked up to Arun for an explanation.
“Your ticket has been upgraded to second AC. Hurry now!” Arun added.
This answer made the girl’s win a little pale in comparison.
We took our luggage and jumped out of the coach.
“Which coach?” I asked Arun.
“You are going back to the hostel. Check the date” Arun handed over the ticket to me.
The ticket says 28 December 2016 and today is 27th.
“It would have been embarrassing if I had told the truth inside.” Arun was right.
We went back to the hostel. Next morning Arun came to my hostel room only to shared another news with me, “Your train has been cancelled. So you'll have to book another in tatkal.”
“Oh no! Why does this happen to me every time?” I complained.
“You should be thanking your stars. Yesterday’s train met an accident.” He threw the newspaper to me.
All of a sudden I was not feeling good. I took the newspaper and read line by line. All the faces in the coach came alive to me. The little girl who shared a smile as if I knew her from ages when I entered, the old man who had genuinely tried to help sort the ticket situation and yes, the young lady I had fought with. I didn’t know any of their names, had barely spoken to them, most of it was showing off my ego or just a passing smile.
Life is very strange. We keep on fighting for betterment, neglect relationships, create a virtual but strong wall around us but at last, death claims it all. I just hope all of us are safe at the moment.