The following is a story that is inspired by a momentary glimpse of a couple at a metro station while I was traveling. In it I have tried to capture the weight that I felt, looking at them staring out at the horizon. Of course not a very successful attempt, but I would really love it if I can have your comments/feedback. Thank you!
He was early. He knew he had left early but he didn’t really have a
choice. One couldn’t rely on transport, especially public transport. Also, he
did not want to keep her waiting. He was simply dressed. Cheap T shirt he had
purchased a few months back and a pair of jeans out of the two pairs he owned.
His bag was slung across his shoulders. Dirt made it look older than two years.
His once white shoes were now brownish but he did not really mind. What was
important was that she was going to be here soon. He took out his phone and
changed the song. The locally manufactured earphones did not really give him
the sound that he would have liked to hear but like everything else, it hardly
mattered. He sat down at a bench under the shade of the bus stop and waited for
her, thinking about nothing in particular.
She arrived 25 minutes later. The moment she got down from the bus, he
was by her side, clasping at her hand. She whispered urgently in his ears,
tugging at his hands and then they were off, trotting away from the bus stop. She
was plainly dressed and had a slight touch of makeup on her face. Her hair was hurriedly
combed with a blue ribbon in them. She was wearing flats that were slightly
worn out. She was carrying a ladies bag. Its strap had, at some point of time,
been broken but then had been repaired by someone. Looking at the crude repair,
one could guess that it was the girl herself who had done the repairs.
They went to a public garden and sat down in a corner. The sun was high
in the sky and it was a dry day. Definitely not the best time to sit and talk
love, he thought. They talked of their work and they talked of their life.
Things were the same way as they always were. She was a secretary at a local
run down business establishment. Her boss was constantly keeping her buried
with more and more work without really giving her the salary she deserved.
Recently he had tried making advances towards her and she had resisted. After
that, her workload had increased and she had been threatened that she would
lose her job if she complained. She put her hand in his and convinced him that it
was alright. We need this job, she told him. We need the money.
Life was no different for him. He was a sales assistant at a local
garment shop. Business was slow and his colleagues hated him. They thought he
was the reason why their salaries were so low. An extra person to pay…it would
be much better if his salary were to be split between us, they thought. Recently
he had got into an argument with a colleague and they had beaten him up that
evening as he was returning home. He still had a slight bruise under his left
eye. But then again, he couldn’t really do anything about it. He was lucky to
have a job after all.
The sun was shining directly on them. They got up and decided to go and
eat something. As such, it was close to lunch hour and neither one of them had
had anything to eat since morning. They walked through a market, hand in hand,
his bag swinging behind him and her bag clasped close to herself. They crossed
a few restaurants which were quite exquisite. He kept looking in, from the
corner of his eye, and saw glimpses of laid out tables with waiters in suits
standing by. He saw expensively dressed men and women sitting across each other
in dimly lit dining halls. There were young people too, walking hand in hand,
just like them. But of course looking at them, he felt a sharp pang of
jealousy. They didn’t have to work day and night like him. They didn’t have to
survive with two pairs of jeans and of course they did not have to send money
back home out of the meager salary he got.
She understood his feelings and guessed the thoughts that were passing
through his minds. She pressed his hands and his agitated face smoothened once
again. They reached a roadside vendor and ate under the gaze of the afternoon
sun. Restaurants and fancy dining was something they could only think of in
their dreams. After dinner, they walked around in the market, stopping occasionally
to look at a hand bag in one shop and to admire a dress in another. They never
stepped into any of the shops. Their humble purse did not have spare cash
enough for luxury. At one point, they both stopped to admire a purse that was
on display. It was a lovely piece laid out in black, her favourite colour. After
a while, they continued their strolling but he had seen it. He had noticed the glow
in her eyes as she had stared at the back.
Someday, he said to himself. Someday I will ensure I buy for you
everything that you want. I will work hard. I will get over this phase. I will
buy a golden ring for you and then marry you. But at the same time, a tiny
voice in his heart told him that it was an impossible dream that he was dreaming.
He might be able to marry her, but to reach where he wanted to…it would be
something short of a miracle. As they crossed the crowd, he heard young people
of his age conversing. He overheard English conversation and accented voices
and felt a jab at his heart. Rich brats, fancy schooling, flushed with money…he
thought. How I would have excelled if I was in their place!
And thus they walked and talked until evening loomed up. They decided to
take the metro back to their places so that they could spend some more time
together. They entered the metro station and boarded the train. They stood in a
corner, his hands around her shoulder, trying to shield her from the eyes of
the neighbouring men. At one of the stops, she got a little impulsive and
whispered something in his ears. They got down at the next stop.
The station was almost deserted. They stood at a point from where they
could see the city from a height. She leaned on to him and put her head on his
shoulder. He put a hand around her and wrapped her in his warmth. Together they
stared out into the evening. He pointed a tall building to her. That’s where we
will have a place together, he said and they smiled. She pointed out the
horizon to him and asked him to promise that he would be faithful to her. He
pointed out a home where there were two kids playing on the roof. They giggled
and laughed at the children and she pointed out birds flying back home. The
evening breeze gently caressed them and she huddled closer to him. He pressed
her against him and pointed out the dying sun.
Suddenly, he heard a snorting sound and turned to see a couple walking
away, giggling at them. He got angry but she consoled him. He heaved a deep
sorrowful sigh but the moment was spoilt. He was angry at the world. He was
angry at the couple who were perhaps returning after spending a romantic
evening at a convenient place. They could not understand the emotions that were
going on in his mind. Of course they would not understand what it felt to not
be able to take your love to places but to resort to metro station for a brief
moment’s privacy.
They boarded the metro again and three stations later she got down. She
gave him a quick peck on his cheek and he watched as the metro door closed and
she slowly became another face in the crowd. The metro continued moving and his
thoughts were lost again. He was a common man. A common man…a few simple
ambitions and a simple life. Was it really so hard? He remembered the couple
that had killed his moment. Was the society so arrogant, so rude? Did he not
have a right to simple joys in life? They had mocked a common man’s romance…but
like everything else, he thought bitterly, he couldn’t really do anything…
Parekh, Pravesh
October
22, 2012; 03:50 AM
