The Note
The train was scheduled to leave at 8.30a.m. June placed her belongings beneath her seat. Everything seemed perfect. Her thoughts migrated...She adored the sea shores of Puri.
As she had made herself comfortable she found her eyes trailing the back borders of her seat. The folded paper , she picked it.
The words written were, ’Don’t leave J! '
There was no signature. The handwriting seemed written in haste!
She wondered... Was ‘j’ standing for June? Or was it a warning! Could it be a request?
But by whom and why? It was just a matter of half an hour before the train would pull out of the station.
After a while, she decided, after all, she had nothing to lose. She enjoyed her single life and it was just that her mind was playing tricks! Oh! It was indeed a time to break free from her hectic schedule as a nurse .
As the train rolled out of the crowded platform, her heart gave a leap. She was off to a sunny and breezy vacation. As she closed her eyes, the lapping waves of the shore seemed to greet her. The camels on rent for a half an hour ride on the shore, the waves crashing on the golden beach thronging with people, and the sale of different artefacts. This would be her second visit.
As she turned to the window near her seat, the nature outside seemed to pass in succession. The Dhauli express was the best !
“ Excuse me Ma’am. Your ticket please!”
As she confidently slid her hand inside her purse, she was for a shock! The ticket was missing!
She had lost it.
As she was about to apologize, the note seemed to make sense. Of course! It had been a warning!
Red faced, she felt foolish. For the first time she felt the need to have someone in her life to depend on.
The ticket checker was near!
“ Sir, i had got the ticket for the journey but i left the print out at home! “
“ Why are you worried Ma’am? Your co-passenger has shown me both your tickets” He has a RAC so he is seated in the far end. “
Peering from her seat, she was in for a surprise! It was Mohan, her next door neighbour, who had knocked on her door to say hello! He had not been joking when he said he was also going to Puri.
On enquiring, she was happy to know, that as she was hopping down the stairs, her ticket had slipped out of her shoulder bag, and Mohan had noticed it . He had picked it up on the way but as she was racing in her taxi, he found it difficult to catch up with her. He had noticed her on train and left a note on her seat, while she was busy adjusting her luggage on the overhead shelf above her seat.
Mohan had saved her day!
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