Love Stories I was writing at 2am

Gone with the Train

I saw him everyday in the train, it was almost a routine of mine. The reason was maybe because he was always reading a book, oblivious to the scenery that went past him, though suburban Chennai could hardly be called as scenic. Still.

He was always reading, completely engrossed, the title of which I would sometimes manage to sneakily notice. Some books I had known of, and read, and some I'd always wanted d to read,  and some I'd never heard about before. That he had a wide range of genres intrigued me, since none of my friends were book geeks like me. Sometimes, I'd even wondered if he got down at the right stop, for he always seemed to disappear into his own world. The sheer intensity of his eyes on his determined face resembled me slightly, though I could never read on a crowded train.

"You've got to stop staring at him, you know." My friend said, turning my face towards her rather forcefully.

"I just want to talk to him, you know? And get book recommendations." I said.

"Yeah, right. Book recommendations." My friend said, rolling her eyes.

It was quite true, since I wanted to talk to him about books..also. With a final goodbye look at him, I got down at my station.  

"It's a little weird, you staring at him all the time. You are crazy." My friend said, as we walked towards our houses.

Was it really weird? I was only looking at him sometimes. Was it weird to stare at someone you liked?  If this was crazy, what would these people say about the stuff that people did in romance novels! Raja Ratan Singh had defeated an entire kingdom for a woman he'd never met before. In today's world of digital communication, the dynamics of human interaction has changed as we know it.

The next day too, the train journey passed by, as usual, with me staring at him, and him staring at his book. This lil bit of happiness enough for me, for once in my life I had stumbled across someone with a sincere passion for books just like me.

As I stood there thinking, the man next to him stood up, leaving an empty seat next to him. A few people scrambled for the seat, but my friend displayed an unusual trait of enthusiasm and bagged the seat. As I began to shoot bullets at her with my eye, she motioned towards her.

"Come and sit here." She said, in such a loud voice that even the guy looked up from his book startled (but went back to his book in a second) and I had no choice but to accept her offer.  I was a bundle of nerves normally, and sitting next to him would make me even more anxious. I was perfectly content with the world in which all I did was look at him.

I tiptoed slowly and took her seat,  half grateful and half angry-anxious  and my mind was a middle. I sat that way for almost ten minutes until the train came to a sudden halt-probably waiting for some signal; and the book he had did a few somersaults in the air and splattered onto the floor.

I immediately picked it up, and handed it to him after smoothening the wrinkled on the pages and wiping the dust off. He took it with a smile. My heart stopped.

Never had I come across a guy reading 'Gone with the wind.' How extraordinary!

He fuddled with the pages, obviously attempting to find the page he was reading. A few seconds later, a triumphant look fell on his face,  and he continued to read.

I took out a bookmark from my bag and handed it to him. "Please take it. I have many." I said.

"Thank you very much. " He said, sincerely.

"My dear, I don't give a damn." I said,  going with the flow.

"What?"

Oh! Screw my sense of humour. No one got my jokes.

"Umm.. It's a line from the book that you are presently reading." I said,  embarrassed. Like the meme with the cat wearing a spacesuit, I too wanted to disappear.