Finding Safwan

Chapter 4

Drishya awoke with a start. Her face was flushed with sweat. She should have taken something for the night. The nightmares had started again. No , sleep was not an option now. She opened her small handbag that she kept beside her and rummaged through its contents.

"Damn Mahi, " she thought when she couldn't find the pack of cigarettes that she was looking for. Trying not to wake anyone else she slowly tiptoed her way down from the top berth. It was 3.00 clock in the morning and the entire train was fast asleep. As she made her way across the dark corridor she could hear the irregular breathing of the various kinds of people.

That was one of the reasons she wanted to travel by train , to see various kinds of people , to try and find out about their lives so that she could escape from hers. Everyone thought of her as a rich selfish bitch who cared about nothing other than herself. But they couldn't be more wrong . It was not that she didn't want to care. It was just that caring about others meant that opening yourself to get hurt. Wasn't the other alternative quite better ?

 A small light from the side berth caught her eye. She stopped for a moment to see what it was. A girl was lying on her stomach and bent over her phone. Probably texting her boyfriend , she thought.

Ah...boyfriend , her last one lasted two weeks. She changed them more regularly than people recharged their phones.

It was just that all boys she dated expected just one thing from her. None of them were willing to even get to know her better before they wanted to start rounding  the bases. Again it was her reputation , wasn't it. In her first year she had dated a senior and had ventured as far as second base  for the first time with that douchebag , but when she realized that he was just using her to win a bet with his friends that he would score a freshman by the end of the semester she broke off things with him.

Incensed , the asshole started spreading rumors about it and before she even knew it she had apparently slept with almost half the college. Now all the assholes who asked her out expected her to sleep with them at the end of the first day. They did not even have the courtesy to follow the three date rule even. The fact that she didn't care about this and still went out with them further compounded the rumors.

 A gust of cold air hit Drishya in the face , spraying her hair around wildly as she opened the compartment door. The train chugged around rhythmically , trees and  telephone poles passing her pretty quickly. She leaned back against the door wall savoring the sweet breeze and closed her eyes. This felt better than any drug.

This was a different world , more beautiful , more quiet and more relaxed. There was no one to question or control her here. She was her own master. She lived by her own rules. Right now she was lying down in a small clearing on the beach surrounded by palm trees , in the shade , in a bikini , a cocktail in hand and Death Metal blasting in her ears. It will be pure bliss.

"Careful," a hand jerked her out of her reverie.

She is pulled back to gaze into the palest green eyes that she had ever seen. 'Cat's eyes,' she thought.

"You were about to fall out , " said a deep matured voice. Drishya stepped a bit back to look at her savior.

He was young, incredibly young. That was the first thought that ran through her mind. He was a bit taller than her which was quite tall considering that she was 5'9.  Strong face , sharp face and short hair , trimmed neatly in a buzz cut. Contrast this with pale green eyes , Drishya was sure that he  would be having hordes of girls falling over at his feet in school or perhaps college , if he was that old.  A closer look revealed a thin scar that along his jawline that was partially hidden by the faint growth of hair along his chin , probably the only sign that he was out of his teenage.

"Are you okay ? You seemed to have been in some deep thought ," he asked letting go of the fact that she had been staring at him for more than a minute.

"Yes...Yes...I am fine , I was just getting some air," she stammered probably for the first time at a boy.

"That's good. Take care not to get too close to the edge," he replied in impeccable English , letting go of her arm.  He dwindled for a moment debating whether to add something but decided against it , shook his head and left , a bit too abruptly for her liking , thought Drishya. 

As the winds raged outside in the night , Drishya rubbed her hand slightly where he had held her and gathered her arms close to her body feeling cold for the first time in the night.