T-12671, 21:00 hours

A long,exhausting week had come to a weak end and another was on the verge of beginning. Saturdays come every week but the village/forest/college/institution I study in declares it a holiday every alternate week. Friday was a long wait. As the saying goes, after Monday and Tuesday even the days of the week say WTF! The lunch bell clanged at 12 30 pm and I ran at a pace enviable for Usain Bolt, just to have lunch. I reached my hostel faster than that and my already gleaming face widened further and the clothes(mostly,okay,everything UNCLEAN) were dumped into the American Tourister. It was time to go home. Get,Set, Go! A suitcase in one hand, mobile in the other, ear-phones plugged in, the world was at my feet. A soft voice rang  me up to ask if I had left(My Mom).My friend(guy) wanted to show me how big Coimbatore was and we set about exploring. Dinner in a roadside shop decorated in comical colors was avoided and a restaurant was chosen. 8:50 pm read the Casio on my left wrist as I casually ordered another plate of pani-puri. Something was seriously wrong.OMG! My train was to leave in less than 600 seconds. The order was canceled in a jiffy and I was fighting a race against time.
       The engine roared to life and the pulsar 220 took off in jet speed. Too clichéd? It was only 40 km/hr because it was just a scooty pep+. My bad luck. 70 seconds remained for 9:00 pm to strike and the signal itself had taken 40 off it. The back entrance of the railway station finally arrived with 15 seconds to go and I had to show off my running skills yet again. To add to my disastrous luck, the train had been dislodged from its equilibrium position by the crazy driver.I finally managed to get onto to the running train. A barrage of bad words followed from my friend. Probably my experience wasn't all that great. Maybe it was. S10 seat no.18 read my ticket and again it happened . I had got onto S1. Brilliant. A 45 minute wait for the next station. I jumped off the coach and ran towards mine. Railways need to be taught how to organize coaches. The anti-climax was finally over. A poorly lit compartment welcomed me. Half the lights off, people wandering aimlessly, some wanting to get some sleep, some wondering what to do, few on the phone. One passenger stood out. His mouth wide open, gazing at the roof of the compartment. WATCH OUT FOR THAT MOSQUITO WAS ALL I COULD SAY!
        Train journeys have always fascinated me. I've seen enough movies to conclude love cannot happen in the train. Beautiful girl sitting right in front of you. Angels surrounding you with a weird background score. No further explanations. We always want an incident like this, don't we? It did happen to me. A young girl probably 17 dressed plainly, dark, innocent and glittering eyes wandered here and there and finally it met my searching eyes. All I did was stare,stare and STARE at her. A word was about to break the silence when a loud thud on my seat cracked open my senses with the words,"Thambi,Ticket ticket tickett". Reality dawned upon me. It was a dream alright but why such a sad ending to it? May the TTR rest in peace. All I could see opposite me was an old woman probably in her twilight years asking me,"Ize-greem venuma dhambiii?". I was neither flattered nor deceived. Sometimes, life is like that. One such incident did happen but it was a girl of all people who could match my nonsense talk word for word. Wavelength match was perfect. Its not everyday that these happen but once they do, MEMORIES STAY ON FOREVER.
         Only 3 out of the 8 hours had passed. A lot more had to happen. Every time i step into a train I've wanted something different to happen. During my 2 year experience, all I've learnt is this - Never worry about the destination or the time duration , just endure the journey ...