Girl in the Local Train (click to read more)

​​// 12.48 AM // Mumbai Local- Prabhadevi //

​“Do you like FRIENDS?”, she asked me curiously.

I was confused but I did reply- “Yes.”

“I’m sorry…I did not introduce myself. My name is Sia.”

“My name is Aa...” she interrupted, “I know. Aarav.”

“How do you know my name?”

“You introduced yourself to the Officer when we were at the station...remember?” she replied with a giggling smile.

I clearly remember- I did not introduce myself to anyone. But I ignored it.

// 7.00 PM to 12.30 AM // Peninsula Business Park, Lower Parel //

​‘Hey, I’m really sorry. Another deadline is preponed. Will be working midnight tk. Same plan...lekin kal? I hope you understand,’ I messaged Anisha. We are somewhere between a couple but not a couple.

‘Urghhh…I was looking forward to aaj ki raat yaar...its okay. Aur to make up to this, take me to a movie too tomorrow...call me when you leave the office :),’ she replied.

Finally, I sent the last mail at 12.25 post midnight.

4 meetings in a day and 2 report discussions…from morning 10, I was working like a horse. At this time, I felt very tired and drowsy.

Raju, our office boy- informed me about the sudden strike announcement of cab drivers. I had no other option than taking a local train which I usually avoid.

Though, there was some fear factor too. What if I fall asleep…no one was there to wake me up at my stop.

// 12.40 AM // Lower Parel railway station- Platform-1 // 

​The LED Board displayed- ‘next local in 5 mins.’

On the platform, I spotted a chubby-fair skin girl of around 5 ft height. She had thin and naturally curly hair that hung a little bit below her shoulders. It was dark brown with a few caramel-colored highlights. Her eyes were brown too and of an almond shape. She wore a yellow floral print skirt and a pink top, had a multi-colored scarf around her neck, and was wearing pink heels. She had a mole on her chin. It all looked unique and stylish.

I was relieved. I looked at her as if I have got a companion for the journey. I thought- she’ll help me to stay awake. Though, I could not gather the courage to talk to her.

“When you are scared in Mumbai, Mumbai Police is always there to help you,” I remembered as one of my office colleagues told me when I moved into the city of dreams. After 10 in the night, each ladies coach of a local train has a Police Officer for safety purposes. I decided to talk to the designated Police Officer and hop-into a Ladies Compartment.

It looked difficult to describe my situation to a Police Officer within a minute.

​I was standing near the signage of ‘Ladies Compartment’ adjacent to the yellow skirt girl. As the local came, I noticed that the compartment had no passengers. I explained my situation to the Officer and surprisingly- this girl said with a smile, “We are together” and the Officer allowed me to travel in a compartment.

I also asked the Officer to wake me up before ‘Andheri’, if at all I fall asleep. I grabbed a corner seat near the broken window. A yellow dress girl was initially standing near the gate. Later she came and sat just opposite to me. She was eager to speak something.

// 12.48 AM // Mumbai Local- Prabhadevi // 

​“Well, I like the show too. But I honestly feel…a lot of women in FRIENDS do not deserve the hate they got,” Sia replied hesitantly.

“as in?” I asked.

“See…Janice loved Chandler truly. Or, take Emily for example. If you see, she was the perfect girl and just because Ross and Rachel belonged together, Emily automatically became a vamp which she was not…,” she replied.

I had no answer to this. But the way she spoke with that soft voice and a warm smile…my drowsiness suddenly disappeared. I wanted to talk more.

​// 12.52 AM // Mumbai Local- Dadar //

*Next station Dadar*

Speaker in the compartment announced.

​“So, late in the office?” I asked.

“Yea. The Admin Department replied that the cab could not be arranged. Because of my mistake, we would have missed the deadline, so I had to sit. But, I’m glad that you chose to travel to this compartment...I don’t feel alone and scared now. You look decent!”

I smiled and so did she.

We were looking out of the window. It was all dark, but the breeze was so refreshing. The only sound we could hear was of a fight between the train and the wind- ‘zhig-zhig…zhig-zhig…zhig-zhig...'

Sia could not sit quietly and I was wandering in my own thoughts.

// 12.55 AM // Mumbai Local- Mahim // 

*Next station Mahim*

​Another announcement broke the silence, and then she asked me excitedly, “What is death to you?”

I was surprised by the question.

After thinking for a while, I replied, “When all of the biological organs stop functioning, then it's death.”

“Well, for me…death is a bump. It’s a tool to forget the soul. What you said is true for the body. But the soul never dies. It sleeps to eternity!”

“and what about the dreams in this eternal sleep then?” I asked humorously.

​“That what is hell or heaven. It’s a dream. When you die or sleep to eternity, you have your whole life in front of you. Then it’s like a scale between your good deeds and the bad deeds. If good deeds scale more, you dream of heaven or else of a hell,” she looked dead serious with this reply.

// 12.58 AM // Mumbai Local- Matunga Road //

*Next station Matunga Road*

​I was a bit shaken by the answer. I needed time to digest it.

After a minute, I asked her, “Who are you? Where do you belong?”

She smiled naughtily and said, “Why? Are you scared? Don’t be...please…I told you whatever I read last night. I’m an avid reader!”

“So, what is life to you?,” now I asked absurdly and explained, “like for me…it's nature, the work I do, the people I love, the goals I’ve set for myself. What about you?”

I noticed one thing. Sia was continuously smiling now. As if, she had found her inner peace.

She replied again with a big smile, “Life is something between your birth and the eternal sleep. Nature, work, people, love, goals…nothing matters. These are mere tools to enjoy life. Life is a cycle that we don’t control. We all are puppets in someone else's show!”

I could not believe the answer I got. But she was right in some sense. She looked at my face and said, “it looks that you agree with me. Am I reshaping your basic concepts?” Then she started to laugh.

// 1.02 AM // Mumbai Local- Bandra //

*Next station Bandra*

​“Yes. You did make me think...and to be honest, I agree with your views but I like my view more. Those are more comforting!”

She laughed again, and asked me, “Where do you stay?”

“Andheri. And you?”

“Santacruz”

I felt the energy between us was something else. As if we knew each other already.

“I seriously feel comfortable with you, Aarav,” she exclaimed.

“Same here, Sia. As if we have known each other for decades…and if you don’t mind, How do I find you after Santacruz? Can I have your number.”

“it’s 88069*****. Give me a call, I’ll save your number too.”

I totally forgot about the Officer. When my eyes were searching for him, I spotted him sleeping.

As we exchanged numbers, Sia walked towards the gates. She untangled her hair. She seemed to be enjoying the breeze. It was very soothing and calming to watch her enjoying the cold and fresh breeze of the midnight, she…playing with her hair and that noise of the train and the wind.

// 1.05 AM // Mumbai Local- Khar Road //

*Next station Khar Road*

​I heard a girl shouting. It seemed, someone fell off the train. So did Sia…I guess.

She immediately came back to the seat where she was sitting before and looked very scared.

“Hey...it's fine. I heard it too.” I looked outside the window and consoled her, “It must be those slum people. They must have been celebrating something or the other and shouting.”

She smiled again as if she was acknowledging me and replied, “So…next question…What is love?”

This time I smiled and said, “Love is the feeling of completeness. It’s when you find something and then you can stay with it forever. That is love…what do you think?”

“For me love is incompleteness. I like the feeling of searching for love. When you feel incomplete, you keep searching for completeness. You keep meeting people, digging in more and more souls. For me, love is an experience. For me...loving a person is a compromise.”

I could feel the pain in her voice. I felt she must have had something behind this answer. But it was not the time to ask for it.

We remained silent for a while.

​// 1.08 AM // Mumbai Local- Santacruz //

*Next station Santacruz*

​“Goodbye, Aarav. You are a nice person. See…You know nothing about me. It's fine if you don’t call back,” she left the train saying this with that infectious smile and did not look back even once.

​I was standing close to those wide gates of the compartment, searching for her on the platform, and trying to understand the meaning of her last words…until she disappeared...into the winds.

A sudden thought about Anisha came into my mind. I was supposed to call her.

// 1.12 AM // Mumbai Local- Vile-Parle //

*Next station Vile-Parle*

​I called Anisha but did not mention anything about Sia. I thought of mentioning this incident when we meet in person.

// 1.15 AM // Mumbai Local- Andheri //

*Next station Andheri*

I got off the train, took an auto and reached home.

//Saturday // 9.20 AM // Andheri //

​The next day, while having breakfast- I read a news story about a girl falling off a Local Train near Khar Road railway station. The incident happened 2 days before. Police had identified her. Her name was Sia Thomson.

I could not believe my eyes. I read the news twice, browsed through other news websites. All of them returned the same result. Few websites even had her photo.

​News clipping read- 'Mumbai Police was able to connect dots in the case of Sia Thomson. She was an employee of Star Network and was working at their Lower Parel office. As per the forensic analysis of her mobile phone, she had planned a dinner with her friend Rahul (name changed) but he stood her up. Later, she had dinner and a few beers at the same restaurant. Sia's sister informed the police that she was in love with Rahul. Police have analyzed CCTV footage of each station from Churchgate to Khar Road, but could not find any conclusive evidence against anyone. After questioning Rahul, Sia's sister, and a few of her friends, police have filed Accidental Death Report and have closed the case.'

I called on the number Sia gave me last night. Someone picked up the call and introduced herself as Sia’s sister. The girl on the phone explained, “Sia was pushed or may have fallen off a train at around 1 in the midnight on the day before yesterday. She’s no more.”

I was numb and disturbed now. I called Anisha and explained everything to her. She instantly laughed and ignored me.

Somehow I managed to keep myself busy for the day and explained everything to Anisha again when we met at the cinema hall in the evening. Even Anisha could not believe my words but later she suggested confronting the Police Officer- who saw us together.

I and Anisha reached Andheri station on Saturday midnight at around 1. We were waiting for the same train.

Luckily, the train arrived in time and it had the same Officer. I asked him about Sia. He laughed and replied, “Were you drunk last night? There was no one with you. I allowed you in this compartment because no one was there. Go, have some sleep. You look tired.”