Monsoon Rain!

Prologue! 

Monsoon Rain...

The driver pressed horn really hard, hoping the overloaded lorry to move away from his way, but the road has become really worse and the lorry has badly fixed, the impatient people along with the continuous raining make it more difficult.

I turned off my Data option with that turned off my phone too, the rain is intensifying with lightening and it is not advisable to use phone while lightening, so with no option left I look outside through the glass window of the cab towards the busy streets of my home town.

It is the Monsoon time in India when I got the news of my mother’s illness, I was busy in a project far away from India in USA with my team mates and I got this news. Well worried! Of course I am, because as much as I know my family, they won’t say me such things if it isn’t something more serious.

So here I am in Kolkata, in my home town putting all the remaining work upon my fellow mates.

Sir!

The driver’s voice broke my revive and I look at him like a fool, sure I must have zoned out for quite some time.

“Sir, the road has blocked due to water logging, we have to wait a little longer till the rain stops.”

Nodding at him I sit in the cab for a little time before it get me a suffocating feeling, I opened the door to move out, the intensity of rain surely decreasing but it will take more  time for the road to clear. The guilty looking driver forwarded an umbrella as if it is his fault that we are stuck here. I smiled to assure him and taking the umbrella move towards the bus stand nearby.

The bus stand wasn’t that much crowded, except me and two more people including a lady. I concentrated upon wiping the water at the same time taking my surrounding.

Before I again go back to my thoughts, the Lady’s phone rang. Am not a person who eavesdrop but something familiar the way the lady was talking made me curious. I craned my neck to get a better view of the lady, it is around 7pm and the only source of light is the street light reveals nothing except her long hairs braided into a long braid, and the cotton sharee.

Imagining someone elder I brushed off her from my mind, there are least possibility that am being familiar with someone elder and top of that a Lady, and engrossed myself in my phone not before calling at home and informing about my delay due to road block.

It might has been half an hour I am waiting in the bus stop, the rain has completely stopped , the other person with us left the stop leaving only me and her, she might be waiting for regular bus, thinking that I am going to look away but something caught my attention. As the lady has changed her standing position, her side profile is completely illuminated by the dim light from the street light and she seems extremely familiar.

I move in her direction, better to clear this confusion instead of banging my head over this matter. The more I got closer my vision get cleared so as she. How can I forget her, it’s not been much time I am away from this city. It’s just four years, and nobody forgets someone in just four years.

It’s just that I never expected her to meet here, or more clearly meet ever again. But truly said she has changed a lot.

She might have sensed someone beside her, so looked up to meet my eyes, confusion realisation, shock all passed through her eyes as she took in my presence, maybe she is as unprepared as I am.

“Hey!”

I smiled a little, somebody has to start talking to break this awkwardness in the atmosphere, and I thought to greet first taking her still shocked posture.

“You here! It’s been so long!”

In response she just smiled as she used to be back then, greeting me back.

“How are you? When you come back?” she asked with the same politeness in voice as she used to do, she hasn’t changed much expect she looks more like a grown up woman than the jolly girl in my college.

“Yaa! am fine, actually today only I returned from ....”

“USA!” she completed my sentence, dropping her eyes to her feet, avoiding looking at me, something in her voice or the fact that she knew about my whereabouts warmed my heart.

“Ho....”

I wanted to ask her ,how is she, maybe a lot more but the horn of the bus broke our silence as she face me completely smiling on her own unique way.

“hey! That’s my bus, hope we will meet again soon, bye!”

I took in her impatient hurry appearance as she waited for me to say something, at that moment why there is that feeling that keep on nagging that if I will ask her to stay she will happily. But as usual I heard myself saying the only word that I used for her more than anyone else.

“Bye!”

She smiled more radiantly hiding her disappointment, Disappointment! well, it might be my imagination, but whatever it is , it feel like so.

I watch her hurry up towards her bus gathering her umbrella, and wave me as I stand there looking as she disappear in the dark, I couldn’t even ask her, how she is. No sooner my driver too call me up, but in this time in the journey back home am not worried about work, family, but about the known stranger in the bus stop in a monsoon rainy night.