Short Story

I entered the crowded restaurant at about half past one.

I had just joined work and for some reason, did not want to carry lunch along for the first few days. There was a Hotel Ganga down the block where I decided to have my lunch. I would go on to have lunch there for the next one week,

The restaurant was crowded when I entered. One of the things I hate in local restaurants is that they make you sit with strangers. Not that I am a reserved kind of a guy; I like my privacy. I made my way to the only table which had a free seat. As I sat down, I noticed my neighbours. The couple sitting to my opposite were blissfully engaged in PDA inspite of the fact that they were not alone in the table. I was there and so was the old man to my right. Even as me and the old man placed orders, the couple paid their bill and left much to my relief and the despair of the man sitting in the next table.

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It was only in movies that one gets to sit opposite a beautiful girl in a train. And Raj couldn’t believe his eyes when this happened to him. 

He had walked into his compartment to find this stunning girl sitting opposite his seat and was overjoyed to find that the other seats in the vicinity were unoccupied. 

Years of military training had taken its toll on Raj as he found it difficult to even start a talk with the girl. The train chugged out of Agra station and soon was sending in a steady breeze from the open fields even as Raj couldn’t concentrate in the latest edition of Bike India he was ‘trying’ to read. He finally decided to cut the ice. 

“Raj.”, said Raj as he shifted forward with a smile. 

“Huh?”  

“I am Raj.”, he repeated awkwardly. 

“Oh! I am Komal.” She replied with a smile. 

Raj was overjoyed as he half expected this response. 

“Going on vacation?” asked Raj suddenly realizing that vacations were just over. He cursed himself for goofing up. But Komal didn’t seem to mind. 

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This is in reference to my recent post - a short story titled What people think? Well some readers thought the title was too dumb. Well it is dumb! Thank goodness they didn’t comment here. They rather chose to tell me that in person.

That was actually a title for a short story contest i took part in sometime back and the my post here was the prize winning one. I thought of renaming it Kaleidoscope or something like that, but decided to retain the original title.

And yes! My story was the prize winning one. Now just imagine how pathetic the other entries would have been!

“Ma! I am off to college!”

“Here is your breakfast! Eat and go!”

“No time ma! Bye”

Raj started his bike even as he finished the sentence. He shifted the bike into first gear and released the clutch. He looked at the opposite house’s balcony to check if the girl occupying the flat was there. She was not. Raj sighed and and zoomed off into the street.

“Raj! Here is your helmet…”, his mother came running to find her son gone. She sighed and closed the front gate.

Raj drove the modified Yamaha through the narrow streets with great skill. He was fair and a six footer and had a week old stubble. He approached the main road.

“Hmm… What have I forgotten?”

The signal showed red

“Have I taken the assignment? Hmm… Yes. I have”

The signal was still red.

“Ajay would have taken delivery of his new bike. Great! Should ride that today!”

Raj smiled as he sped towards the signal.

“Its Hema’s birthday. Should wish her the first thing in college.”

The junction was empty. Raj decided to jump the signal. He crossed the signal.

A loud horn blared and the last thing Raj remembered was the grill of a truck that was barely a couple of meters his left. His eyes widened as he was hit by a storm. Read the rest of this entry »