She could hear a periodic voice ringing in the background, growing louder with every beat. She was in the middle of a story and then it suddenly disappeared. Someone touched her and pulled her back. The train had already reached platform 1 and she was woken up from her dream by the boogie keeper. She hastily jumped out of her seat and hit her head hard against the upper berth. Groaning, she up tied her wavy, shoulder length hair and dumped all of her belongings into her brown rusty bag. Her compartment was completely empty by now and she dragged her black suitcase towards the door. How reckless of her to sleep through the alarms and risk being carried away to the cant station. Even while self-lecturing, she mindlessly tried to remember what she was dreaming about.
The station was crowded of passengers sleeping on the platform or waiting for their trains. It was 6 am and the cold breeze of December numbed her hands. Next to the waiting room, a young boy was cautiously running with few glasses placed in the tiny circular hoops of the tray. He approached the edge of the platform, looked at the engine arriving at a snails' pace and then jumped. She stopped for a moment as he flawlessly crossed the tracks and climbed the foot hold of the Mumbai Express halting at platform 3, without spilling the tea. As he reached inside the boogies, she saw him singing and smiling on medley of noises and then disappear behind the windows. For a few seconds, she stood mystified at the gaiety in his voice. The next round of announcements brought her back to present and she started walking towards the exit. A bunch of taxi drivers were launching themselves on the outgoing passengers as she made her way out of the station.
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The station was crowded of passengers sleeping on the platform or waiting for their trains. It was 6 am and the cold breeze of December numbed her hands. Next to the waiting room, a young boy was cautiously running with few glasses placed in the tiny circular hoops of the tray. He approached the edge of the platform, looked at the engine arriving at a snails' pace and then jumped. She stopped for a moment as he flawlessly crossed the tracks and climbed the foot hold of the Mumbai Express halting at platform 3, without spilling the tea. As he reached inside the boogies, she saw him singing and smiling on medley of noises and then disappear behind the windows. For a few seconds, she stood mystified at the gaiety in his voice. The next round of announcements brought her back to present and she started walking towards the exit. A bunch of taxi drivers were launching themselves on the outgoing passengers as she made her way out of the station.
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