Close Encounter

‘Not all conversations require both parties to speak…’

It was on a chilling December evening when Shalini was rushing to catch the last metro train at the Jahangurpuri Metro station.

She had just arrived in Delhi from Karnal in a bus which dropped her at Karnal Bypass.

She had missed her train in the evening from Karnal and had no choice but to take the bus from Kunjpura Bypass to Delhi.

She had a hard time convincing her father to allow her to work in Gurugram, so, when she missed the train she instead took the bus to Delhi without informing her father.

Shalini had scored well in Engineering and wanted to work in Delhi NCR but her father always encouraged her to work in their small city.

He was not comfortable allowing her to stay alone in a big city like Gurugram but he had to give in to her stubbornness. Shalini was a feisty one; even in college she was called the ‘Lady Hitler’.

She never took no for an answer.

She was as it is in a very bad mood because of the bus travel and to add insult to injury the Auto Wala charged her Rs 100 for a distance of approximately 1 KM from Karnal Bypass to the Metro station.

Her father had warned her about this but she didn’t want to miss the last metro so she reluctantly agreed to the obnoxiously high fare.

She hard time dragging two trolley bags up the stairs of the Metro station along with a heavy backpack on her shoulders.

As soon as she reached the station she dropped her backpack and tried to balance the trolley bags when one of the bags slipped out of her hands and fell with a thud.

“DAMN IT…,” she shouted.

She was standing on the female coach section of the station.

So far nothing was going as planned; she was trying hard to stay calm when she suddenly noticed a guy constantly staring at her from across the station.

It was 10:45 PM and the station was completely dissolute, it was just Shalini and this other guy there.

She was trying hard to ignore him by looking the other way but the stare didn’t stop.

She took out her phone thinking that might end the staring.

“No no no,” she said as she looked at the blank screen of the phone. The battery was dead.

“It’s my day,” she said throwing her arms in the air with frustration.

She looked back at the guy who was still looking her way.

“What does he want?” she mumbled.

“Dare he come close,” she mumbled again clenching her fist.

She folded her arms and stood there like a wrestler making sure that the other party got the message loud and clear; “Don’t mess with me.”

“Where the hell is the train?” she mumbled in frustration and started walking around her luggage.

To her relief, she could hear the Metro coming her way. A faint smile emerged on her face as she 

spotted the metro coming from a distance.

To her utter surprise, the guy on the station got up and walked towards her even as the metro came to a screeching halt at the station.

With Goosebumps all over her body, she decided to walk past the guy towards the other end of the Metro.

As they crossed path the guy extended his arm towards her.

“DARE YOU TOUCH ME, I’LL BREAK YOUR ARM,” she shouted pointing her finger towards the guy with her eyes and face turning red with anger.

The guy immediately surrendered raising his arms in the air without uttering a single word.

She marched, literally thumping her sandals hard, the other way and boarded the middle coach while he went towards the direction where Shalini was waiting for the train and boarded the second coach right next to the female coach.

As she sat down with the luggage securely placed on the metro floor she peaked towards the female coach with the hope that the guy hadn’t boarded the train.

She was sitting towards the station side of the train so the front coaches were towards her right side.

The metro track wasn’t straight so the second coach wasn’t visible as the train was turning. Since she couldn’t spot him, she assumed that she was alone and took a sigh of relief.

“Next station is Adarsh Nagar, doors will open on the right, please mind the gap,” Shalini heard the announcement.

She nervously looked towards the right side but could only see the middle part of the coach (joint part). The sound of friction between the two coaches was bouncing off her ears as the Metro picked up speed.

As the train was about to enter Adarsh Nagar station the coaches straightened and she could see him walking towards her.

She could feel Goosebumps all through her body as she got up remembering the attack position during the martial arts classes.

She had never thought that she would ever have to use her training in real life.

The fear of being alone combined with the adrenaline blackened her mind and for a moment she froze.

She felt as if she was stuck at one place when she visualised her father’s face, mustered all her strength and clenched her fists as the guy came closer.

“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT?” she shouted and geared her body in the attack position with her feet aligned, spaced apart and fists ready to rumble.

The guy again raised his arms as the train stopped at Adarsh Nagar station and the doors opened.

Drops of sweat trickled down her face as she clenched her fists tight and prepared to attack.

“You have done this in the training, you can do it now,” she thought as she gathered all her strength.

“Haiyaaaaaaaaaaaaa,” she shouted and moved to attack is when the guy bent down with his right hand raised towards Shalini.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa,” is all the guy could utter.

“THAT’S ALL YOU HAVE,” said Shalini with confidence jumping up and down like a boxer.

“That’s right you stay down,” she continued with excitement when she noticed a sipper in his hand.

“What the hell? That’s my sipper,” she said snatching the sipper out of his hand.

The train started moving again and the guy gestured a 'break sign' with his hands.

“How did you get this?” asked Shalini threatening to punch him as the guy fell on the floor and crouched away.

He was constantly pointing towards his lips and then waving him thumb.

Seeing him back away, Shalini cooled down and tried to understand what he was gesturing.

“You can’t speak?” she asked.

He nodded his head to say yes.

“O, God……. I am so sorry,” she said as she rushed to help him get up.

“Did you come towards me at the station to tell me that I dropped my sipper?” she asked with a sheepish smile on her face.

He gestured lowering his palm.

“O, you want me to speak slower?” she asked.

He nodded his head with a smile.

“Did         you       come       towards       me       at       the          station        to        tell          me           that       I             dropped            it?” she asked again, this time a bit slower.

He nodded his head as they both burst into laughter.

“O god how stupid I am,” she said laughing holding on to her head.

He showed his ID card.

“Your name is Adesh, nice to meet you I am Shalini,” she said as Adesh smiled.

“You are a Software engineer with TCS, wow! That’s cool,” she said enthusiastically as the train stopped at the next station and a few people boarded.

“I am joining Wipro in Udyog Vihar,” she said as Adesh smiled.

“If next time I am in trouble…..” she said as she tried to understand Adesh’s hand gestures.

“… stay calm and use your brain,” she said and laughed acknowledging as Adesh pointed towards her head.

“Can I use your phone? I have to call my father. My phones dead,” she asked showing her phone.

Adesh passed him phone and also pointed towards the charging points in the middle section of the metro coach.

“I should stay calm and use my Brain more often,” she said laughing and pointing towards her head.

She narrated the incident to her father who laughed along with her.

Luckily, Adesh also had to go to Gurugram. They chatted all the way (well, she chatted and he gestured), and exchanged numbers as well.

She asked many questions about life in Gurugram and Adesh answered happily.

They got down at Huda City centre. Adesh helped her with her luggage.

“Thank you so much for helping me,” said Shalini as Adesh smiled.

Adesh’s friend was already waiting for him at the station and they dropped Shalini to her hostel in Sushant Lok 1.

“This was the best conversation I have ever had, hope to have more in the future,” she said as they both smiled.

“Good night,” she said as she checked in her hostel and Adesh and his friend drove away.