An incessant chatter is met with monosyllable
responses: an ah, an oh, an, um, their steps echoing across the alley leading up to the bridge. The little one takes to the stairs with a burst of speed and
waits for the other at mid flight. The other gazes at the
lake that is almost dry except for the moon glistening off its wet leaves;
leaves that have sucked the water up, unbridled. He starts humming a tune, finds the kid
getting impatient, switches to a whistle as he catches up two steps at a time.
The kid is fascinated. "Two steps?? I
want to try”. He stretches across the steps two at a time. Finding this too
slow and tiresome he races up, covering the remaining steps one at a time.
On the landing, hands on the railing, the kid watches the gleaming lines
running to infinity. He catches up and the they cross over the tracks in silence, lost in thought. On the other side, a train comes to stop.
Slowly the two climb down, admiring this magnificence from afar,landing on the platform as the train pulls out. The two pairs of eyes
follow every coach out of the station; the faces so similar, the expressions reflecting the ties of blood they share.
After a minute or two: “papa come, we’ll walk to the end of
this station”
“ OK”
He walks; the kid trots along, letting him direct his steps
while he gaped, agog.They walk till the end; turn around. The signal has been green for a while now. Soon, the 9:00 PM pulls in, on time; big, beastly. Though accustomed
to it, the kid clutches his father’s shirt bracing for the blaring horn. The engine
passes, no horn. “yay”. He relaxes. *HONK*. He jumps . He is cheated. He stares at the receding engine balefully….
“come.. “. Distracted by gentle hands, he moves towards a
coach that has come to stop.
“mama” he shrieks. She alights, takes him in her hands and plays
with his hair, smiling at papa.
The three of them walk back towards the flight of stairs as
a gentle breeze that was inconspicuous till now blows across, playing with her
hair. Papa smiles.
This is something I wrote long time back… I used to commute
to office by the suburban trains. I was waiting for a train home, when I wrote
this. The station, If one has used this route, can be associated with Chetpet
station, where I usually got down.
