I remembered this guy all of a sudden this morning.
We were at Neral station waiting for the train to Pune some years ago. We had had some fun filled days in Matheran, a hill station, where the red mud roads forced us to trek and trek for hours together. No vehicles whizzed past us once we were inside the vicinity of the region.
With horses prancing around, chikkis and fudges visible in every corner, it was indeed so heart breaking to leave this awesome place after four days.
The train arrived. It would halt just two minutes. We waited till some folk entered the packed compartment, then hubby pushed our two tiny kids in along with our two pieces of baggage.
Just as we were about to enter in, a young, hefty guy with a perpetual smirk on his face, stood right at the entrance refusing to budge an inch.
We begged him to let us in. Kids already in, the train would leave any moment.
But, no. He held his guns, as though something had come over him. He just stood there, absolutely unwilling to let us in.
Finally at the last minute, he moved a bit. Shoving him aside, we barged in, and the train began moving.
"What a crazy man," I muttered aloud.
It was as though he was in some kind of daze. He continued smirking at us.
We found seats. People were fitted into every nook and corner of the compartment. Then my cough began. It wouldn't stop.
Luckily, I had my inhaler with me. Took two puffs. That calmed me down. Must be the sudden stress, I thought.
The rest of the journey was uneventful.
But I do think of this guy sometimes. Why wasn't he letting us in? He let the others in, why not us?
I thought if he had two horns, he would have looked like the devil himself.
What if the train had moved, with us on the platform..and kids on the train?
I'm sure the train waited an extra few more minutes that day.
I wonder where this guy is today. Is he married and does he have kids?
He must go through a similar experience himself.
Only then he'd realize how stupidly he behaved that morning.
