HOMEWARD BOUND
A handful boys and girls could be seen around the tables at a sea-side restaurant in Kochi. The sounds of their laughter and hooting could be heard even across the park nearby. As the moon appeared and the red and pink tinges of the horizon slowly began turning into purple, one by one, they bid goodbye to a lean boy in jeans and V-neck T-shirt and headed for the parking area.
The boy settled the bill and walked slowly, enjoying the chilly breeze. During such solitary wanderings on the beach, Mohan had always wanted to experience how the breeze would ruffle his hair in a comforting caress. But, his father never allowed him to grow it that long. A shout always unerringly came for him when it got a couple of inches long:
"Don't walk around looking like a caveman, Mohan! Go and get a haircut!"
Mr. Arvind Bhatnagar was an ambitious man who cared a lot about his image in the society. Hence he couldn't really be blamed for favouring his elder son, Mahesh, who had followed his footsteps and become a successful software professional. Seeing how Mohan had become a gadget freak at a tender age, similar expectations -maybe even greater ones- grew in his mind regarding Mohan also. Having set his mind on a single choice, he didn't realize where his younger son's potentials and interests really lay. Things went like this till Mohan's 12th standard.
Mohan still remember the day he had gathered all his courage and finally revealed his desire to be a journalist: all hell broke loose then. Arvind insisted that Mohan, who always scored well, would be wasting his intelligence in lowly media offices, becoming another slave of dirty politics.
Mohan didn't fluctuate from his stand and finally, with lots of convincing from Mohan's mother, he allowed Mohan to do whatever he wanted to do in his life. But, from then on, their relation had become a strained one, with only a few strained and formal conversations so far.
After several years of dedicated efforts, finally Mohan got an apprenticeship in one of the most prestigious newspapers in India, The Morning Wave. The confirmation mail came that morning. He was posted in Mumbai, the City of Dreams.
"Now that I got a job and will be moving out soon, I can do whatever I want with my hair.", he thought with an amused smile and plopped down on the sand.
He gazed at the sky and decided to wait for the arrival of twinkling stars before returning to the chaos of life.
Suddenly, a rather ridiculous mobile ring pierced the soothing rhythm of waves. It was a stupid dare his friends had proposed during their game a few minutes ago, that Mohan had to keep this as his ringtone for a month. Swearing, he sat up and attended the call:
"Yes, Ma."
"Monu, where are you? You remember that Mahi and family are coming early morning, day after tomorrow, don't you?" a high-pitched female voice blared from the headset.
"Yes Ma! Do you remember that today I was giving a party to my friends as I had got apprenticeship?" Mohan replied, irritation evident in his voice.
"I know Monu...." his mother tried her soothing tone. "But, your father is still angry with you for not booking their flight ticket on time... he was muttering the whole day about the inconveniences in trains nowadays... don't give him more reasons... come home soon."
"Okay, Ma."
Mohan clicked the phone shut with an exasperated sigh: there was no use arguing with his mother. Glancing once more at the purple, star-less sky, he started walking towards his bike lazily.
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The metallic sheet roof of Villupuram Railway Station glinted with the rays of morning sun. A dry gust made the few tree-tops visible here and there sway lazily. The people bustling on the platform sighed and fanned their faces.
"Passengers please pay attention!"
The crowds quieted down to some extent. A group of about six girls near the food stall looked up at the loudspeaker expectantly.
"Train no:16127 Guruyaur Express from Chennai-Egmore to Guruvayur - "
Two girls in the group looked at each other and the one with her long black hair in a single plait raised her palm in a pause gesture to ensure complete silence from the group. They listened intently.
"- will arrive at platform no:3 shortly."
The announcement was repeated in Hindi and Tamil.
After hasty goodbye hugs and promises to keep in touch, the others began moving away from the duo towards the inquiry room, apparently to know when their trains will come, and the two girls headed for the over-bridge.
Both girls were wearing jeans and top. The shorter one had shoulder-length wavy brown hair and was wearing a tank-top and sunglasses. She was hauling one big trolley bag and two shoulder bags along with her and was falling behind the other as they crossed the over-bridge.
The train's shrill whistle pierced the atmosphere and soon, it thundered past below them and slowly came to a halt.
The one with long hair was wearing a loose tunic which showed off her slender frame, and had lesser luggage - just a medium sized trolley bag and a handbag. She kept walking smartly ahead, easily cutting through the crowd on the platform. She was taller than the other by about five inches and was craning her neck in search of their compartment, with a smile on her face. One would think her insensitive for not waiting for her shorter friend, but her happiness knew no bounds that day and it was making her forget everything else.
Megha still remembered the day she came to Pondicherry, the Union Territory better known as the Paris of the East, unsure of her capability to stay in a hostel hundreds of kilometers away from her parents and little brother, in pursuit of a Master's Degree in English. But she was lucky to get a friendly roommate who hailed from her state and spoke her mother-tongue. Undoubtedly, Prerna had become her best friend. They had enjoyed all the five years in the University and made a handful of genuine friends.
She would surely miss them all, but right now, the joy of being united with her family clouded everything else. Her parents sounded ecstatic in the phone yesterday to finally have their only girl-child back at home for an extended period of time with no deadlines in near future.
"1... 2 and.... 3! My berth number is two. What is yours, Prerna?" Megha asked her friend as she got inside the compartment.
"Mine is 17, Megha. How I wish we were near! Sitting away from you is going to be awfully boring." Prerna sighed as she passed her rather heavy suitcase over the entrance up to Megha.
"Hey, at least we get to travel in the same train, don't we?" Megha asked her put-out friend as she helped her get everything inside before the train started moving.
"And maybe we can find someone willing to exchange seats so that we can sit together. Never lose hope." She concluded with a smile on her face.
"As you say, Miss Cloud-with-a-silver-lining!" Prerna clambered in and said with an exaggerated bow.
Megha shook her head exasperatedly and began looking at berth numbers. Placing her minimal luggage on number two, Megha accompanied her friend in search of number 17.
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*Ma - mother
YOU ARE READING
THE CLOUD'S CHARM
FanfictionMegha, as her name suggests, is a dynamic girl - one who floats in life's flow just like clouds. And Mohan, despite his name, is not much of a charmer in his social circle: he was yet to find someone special and currently, he was concentrating on...
