Empty stares at 12.30 am..standing right in front of me..I look up to a striped tucked-in T-shirt wrapped around a puffy man with a neat moustache; continue to read my book.
“Goa?” He asks with fruitless audacity.
“Alla” I look up and reply
“Kerala?”
“Hmmm”
“Evade?”
“Kasargod”
“Acha..” silence.. still staring..
I ask him, “taangal ippa keriyadaano?”
“Aa”
“Eda station aa ida?”
“___”
“Kerala poanno?”
“Ade..Kollam pouva”
I smile familiarly.. a little excited, I say, “nyannum kollam inna” now I am obliged so I move my leg and ask him to sit
“Sherikyo!? Kollam ill evade?”
“KundAra” I emphasize on the ‘A’ as learnt recently..
“Nyan___….ende pengal proper kundara inna____” he speaks about some places I’ve never heard and pauses to check if I follow.
“Nyan poettilla! Inikya stalam ariyatilla”
“Pinne aevadenna sherikyum?”
“Delhi”… “paapa kollam inna”
“Muslim aa?”
“Alla, Christian”
“‘Appa’ paranyu adonda chodichada..”
“Papa!” I smile..and I continue reading my book. Pause. I can feel that he is still looking at me.
“Goa poittundo?”
Now Goa means a lot of things to kerlalites so I decline
“Munnar poutundo?”
“Haan” I say with a flashback smile
“Ooty?”
“Illa” I turn back to my book constantly after every answer.
“Enda Kasargod ill?”
“Padikyua”
“Delhi inn vann ivade padikuaano?”
“Ade”
“Enda padikenne?”
“PG”
“Subject?”
“Economics”
“Panda evada padichada?”
“Delhi tanne”
“Kollam epara poyda?”
“Cherpakallatil”
“Avade aara?”
“Ippam,Aarum illa”
“Sadarana e train ill aano?”
“Aa”
“Delhi ill enda cheyanne?”
“Tamasikyum”
“Acchha k enda joly?”
“Defence”
“Pinne epara Delhi ponne?”
“Arithilla” pause.. Basic enquiry over.
“Avade onam undayirunno?”
“Aa..onam holidays kya poyada” I smile
“Ethara divasam?”
“Path”
“Athil 4 divas train ill..” he calculates
I smile and continue with my book
“Reading aano hobby?”
“Ade” and I continue
A while later we reach Madgaon. He says that he will ask the TT about a seat in sleeper or AC, “kitillengil adjust chayane”
I smile. As soon as he leaves I sleep off. Hoping he will go elsewhere. He comes back after a while, wakes me up and informs me that he will get a seat after Mangalore. I gesture toward the compartment in front and show him 4 empty seats. He says people might be boarding from Madgaon. I see that no one did but he chose to sit on my seat itself.
I slouch myself to half the seat and close my eyes. I fall asleep to the lullaby of the tracks. A while later I suppose I turn in sleep just to find myself trapped by his cold cold feet. I try to push back only for him to squeeze me further. Cant move now.. But he is sound asleep.. I wait. Look up at the moon try to fall asleep again but the cold feet on my ribcage is too much to ignore. I sit up.
He asks, “bag veno” pointing to my bag that he was conveniently using as a pillow..
“no..venda”. Now I am wide awake he goes back to sleep. I access the situation. He has neatly occupied more than half the seat now. ENOUGH this has to end. Am I helpful or just a pushover. I ponder and stare outside for a good 10 minutes and then muster up the courage to tell him,
“I cant sleep like this” he gets up instantly, “can you please adjust somewhere else?”
He says, “the TT said I’ll get a seat after Mangalore”
“That’s a long time now”..(it was 3.30 and 3 more hours to go)
“I’ll go check in AC, my bag is here ok?” He walks two steps and comes back for his bag “AC will be far.. I’ll get a seat from Mangalore.. And stands there atop of me breathing down at my throat” he keeps standing there like a doofus. I think of all the times I’ve travelled in sleeper with a general ticket. Never have I ever encroached upon anybody’s space this much. And never has a stranger given me half his seat for nothing.. Maybe my boyfriend is right after all.. I do attract creeps.. As I think of all this he is still standing right there looking at me like a lost puppy.. I tell him there is plenty space there to sit in the next compartment. As he moves I say out of courtesy
“Sorry haan”
“Eh?”
“Umm”
“EH?”
“Nothing” and I turn away to sleep. Goodnight!