(Written when i was in grade eighth)
'The station is ominous at midnight
Hope is a dead letter
No local trains now
Long since departed
No way of getting back
To where you started'
"All those people who are going in the 747 Kehkashan train to Bombay should be ready as it is arriving in three minutes, thank you", blasted the speakers with a female voice. I was in the bathroom of Chagnai National Railway station of Calcutta washing the beads of sweat on my face and..thooooknooskshtsshthshth...the train had arrived.
Madness began.
I started shuffling my clothes here and there in the rusted brown suitcase and dashed out of the dilapidated bathroom. Was there something missing? oh no! My other briefcase!
Startled, i started asking the people who were sitting beside where i left my briefcase, but they weren't replying me back as their headphones were glued to their ears, engrossed in their own world of music. I frantically ran here and there in the frenzy of madness but to no avail and suddenly, the train gave it's melancholy, hooting horn, its final wail and left off.
i shook my head in dismay and lingered for the next train for which i had booked, and by that time, almost all of the people had left. i continued my search for the briefcase in every nook and corner of the station and hadn't the vaguest idea where it was.
i felt uneasy because of two things : firstly, my briefcase which was never to be found and the time of the train which was to come. Abruptly, the lights went out. Everything became dark and melancholy and complete silence reigned in the station. Only the hissing and sighing of the wind from the windows above were audible. i then saw, from the corner of my eye, some lights ahead and there it was, the last train.
BANG! BANG! There were two deafening gunshots and the people who were there screamed their lungs out and ran frantically. The boom of the gunshots rooted me to my spot and i stood where i was. Unexpectedly, the lights came back again and what i saw ahead confirmed my fears. Fears that i had dreaded. There was a many lying on the floor beside the train, drenched in his own pool of blood. It was the conductor!
Startled, i started asking the people who were sitting beside where i left my briefcase, but they weren't replying me back as their headphones were glued to their ears, engrossed in their own world of music. I frantically ran here and there in the frenzy of madness but to no avail and suddenly, the train gave it's melancholy, hooting horn, its final wail and left off.
i shook my head in dismay and lingered for the next train for which i had booked, and by that time, almost all of the people had left. i continued my search for the briefcase in every nook and corner of the station and hadn't the vaguest idea where it was.
i felt uneasy because of two things : firstly, my briefcase which was never to be found and the time of the train which was to come. Abruptly, the lights went out. Everything became dark and melancholy and complete silence reigned in the station. Only the hissing and sighing of the wind from the windows above were audible. i then saw, from the corner of my eye, some lights ahead and there it was, the last train.
BANG! BANG! There were two deafening gunshots and the people who were there screamed their lungs out and ran frantically. The boom of the gunshots rooted me to my spot and i stood where i was. Unexpectedly, the lights came back again and what i saw ahead confirmed my fears. Fears that i had dreaded. There was a many lying on the floor beside the train, drenched in his own pool of blood. It was the conductor!
There was an intruder here, i mused, and darted towards the train which was leaving, taking a last glance at the ill-fated scene that i had witnessed. I was deeply engrossed in my thoughts, thinking about the intruder or murderer or whoever it was, and then regrettably, i craned my head back and took a sharp glance at the people sitting on the back seats. The train was empty, i thought, except for four or five people at the back who i just saw, wearing jet-black suits and smoking cigarettes. i had a suspicious feeling about them and thought to inquire them about what happened just now but as i looked back again, they were gone. As if they had read my mind. As i stood up and turned to walk towards their seats, a heavy, blunt instrument crashed down on my skull and i fell on the floor, lying unconscious.
When i opened my eyes, i was lying on the floor, barely able to breath, and could hear a faint, raspy voice coming from somewhere, " thinking of outrunning the world, eh? We're alone now, time for some action, buddy". i stood up at that voice and started searching for the man. I limped here and there in the labyrinth of corridors and suddenly,"beep. beep. beep". The ticking beep of the time bomb resulted in an adrenaline of rush flowing through my veins. In the frenzy of fear i broke the glass window with my foot and plunged out. "BHOOOOM!" The train disjointed as a beast tears its prey, limb from limb, and the debris plummeted towards the earth at breath-taking speed. Smoke and fire rose to great heights and i fell on the floor with a 'thud', having both my legs fractured. The scene was strangely familiar, i mused. i groaned as excruciating pain shook my whole body and slipped into unconsciousness again.
When i opened my eyes, i had a blurred vision of two or three people standing beside me, holding tongs. My mind was in a kaleidoscopic whirl of thoughts and i had no idea if i even existed. Where and who was the murderer? Am i still alive? Where am i? Whats happening? These thoughts kept circulating through my brain but it was all over, it was a miracle, i thought, and smiled.
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