Thursday, March 13

Tia looked at the sky. The last streaks of red were being scoffed up by the dark tongue of the night. There were a few birds making their way back to their nests. Tia too was on her way home. The bus had become much less crowded. Her stop was approaching. She glanced at her watch to realize that she was an hour late. She had to get down and catch another bus.
She had company till now and she was glad about it. Melvin was sitting in front of her staring out into the distance. They had missed their usual bus. Melvin's presence had given her the feeling of security. Through out the journey they hadn't talked. Tia had been forced to recline into a world of her own thoughts. She shook him and said 'bye, Melvin'.
"See you tomorrow." he said turning back. There was no smile. He seemed lost in thought.

The bus slowed down. She got up, picked up her bag and climbed down, sighing at the darkness. There weren't many people at the bus stop. The bus started rolling again. There was a bearded man looking at her from the rear window of the bus which was steadily gaining speed. She looked away. Her next bus should be here in a four-five minutes. The prospect of waiting in the dark was not at all appealing especially with no familiar faces around to make her feel safe.
Her attention was brought back to the bus by the sound of brakes being applied. The bus slowed down enough for someone to hop off and then shot away angrily. Melvin. He came towards her and stood besides her silently.

"You didn't have to get down", Tia said. "My bus would be here in a few minutes."
"No, it's okay. It has become quiet dark. I know a shortcut home from here."

Tia was very glad Melvin had cared to see her off. Minutes ticked away in silence, occasionally interrupted by a few questions and answers exchanged.
"It's about time my bus came." she said. "I've never had to wait this long."
Melvin nodded.
"Thanks for being here. It would have been horrible to wait alone so long in this darkness. It was really nice of you to have taken the trouble..."
Melvin smiled. "You are always welcome. And it is not much of a trouble actually."

They waited another five minutes before the bus came. Tia thanked Melvin again and got on the bus. Melvin waved his bye. He then turned and started walking. He felt happy that he had chosen to get down with Tia. It started to drizzle slightly, but he didn't take out his umbrella. He enjoyed the chill of raindrops hitting his face and running down his cheek.
Half an hour later he was sipping down a cup of hot tea when the phone rang. His Mom picked up the phone. "It is for you Melvin" she said.
"Hello," Melvin said to the receiver.
"Hello. It's me, Tia..." She had reached home.

3 comments:

Tony Sebastian said...

Very nice :) i had never known the existence of this blog :) do keep writing!!

Anonymous said...

yeah!do publicise it..!!really good post..!! :) :D

Anonymous said...

read it again today..love it!:D
u are great darling :)