Missed Trains and Learnt Lessons

“Can we board this train at least?” asked the young lady dressed in a pink uniform. She was hardly twenty five and appeared to be very responsible with that child.

The boy nodded his head, replying a ‘No’.

The lady was visibly pissed off. After all, this was the sixth train that passed by and they didn’t board it.

As the train arrived the platform, the boy swayed his head from right to left following the engine until it braked at the platform. The blurred visual of the fast passing compartments slowly settled and the passengers within were noticeable. Some were fiddling on their phone, some chit chatting, some napping, and some were restlessly waiting to get off.
 

He released his closed fist one finger at a time counting the number of passengers alighting from the compartment.
The station master signalled, the train choo choo-ed and left the station and the boy returned back to where his mother was seated. 

A man in blue shirt and black pant came and stood near their bench. He was palpitating - may be due to sprinting to board the train. “Missed by a few seconds, I need to wait another 10 minutes for the next one” he informed someone on the phone.
The boy continued counting - number of women, men, children; blue dressed, white, black and so on.
Why are you counting? Asked the man curiously.
The boy replied a smile.

The man was surprised with the lady who was taking note of all these counts religiously, as if they were under a secret mission.

The next train arrived. The young lady was almost sure that the boy was not going to board this one too and hence refrained from asking.

The blue shirt man moved ahead and closer to the train to board. The boy quickly followed the man, “mom, come lets go”. He finally boarded the train -  may be because of the man who was the only one who striked a conversation with him or may be he was tired of waiting.

Be it any reason, the lady in pink and the little boy’s mother were relieved. 

He chose a seat next to the window. He enjoyed the cool breeze on his face with closed eyes and a big smile.

He was soon distracted by the daily sellers who gave a shout to the passengers to buy their products - guavas, mangoes, hot samosas, and toys too. 
He went to each one of them and struck a conversation but didn’t buy anything. When they moved to the next compartment via the gangway connection, he went along with them and so did his mum and the lady. The man in blue shirt was intrigued by the boys behaviour, followed him to the next compartment.
 

The little boy continued the same, talking to strangers, gazing at the sky through the window and he also moved from seat to seat as if to conduct a quality check of the seats in the train. After a few stops, he alighted at the parkway station. Though not his destination, the man got off too just to know what this boy was upto. But to everyones’ surprise, he boarded the train again, into the compartment behind the engine driver. The ladies and the man followed him, like the carriages following the engine completely unaware of the next sequence of activities.

The blue shirt man observed the boy jumping seats yet very well behaved and without an inch of disturbance to fellow passengers. He could no more contain his confusions around the boy. He walked up to the little boy’s mom and took the seat opposite her. 

“Madam, Don’t mind me asking this. But I am curious to know why is your boy doing what he has been doing. It might look naughty on the surface but there is something more which I can understand from your eyes and your patience.”

“Sorry, if he bothered you. He just loves trains and the journey. I want him to enjoy all that he wants to do.”

“Does he do this in every train journey of his?. That must be hard.”

“No, this is the first time he is traveling by train and may be his ...” she swalloed the last few words along with her grief.

The man threw some question marks on his face.

She cleared her throat and continued, “He is under treatment for a terminal illness and he is undergoing an operation in a few days and hence...” the tears she held for nearly two hours rolled down her cheeks. The tears that she always hid from her son, who is too young to understand any of these medical hassles.

She quickly wiped it as her son neared them. 

The train halted and the man left without saying anything. Though tons of emotions choked his throat, he was short of words. He got down and stood there watching the little boy through the window, until the train left.

He was deeply moved. He pondered over the thoughts of the boy as he walked home from the station.

There is no time to stand and stare in this busy world – Agreed. But he learnt an important lesson today.

‘Enjoy the simple pleasures while it lasts!’.

He realized what was missing in his life, how he lost the child in him, how he is chasing a moving target, how he gets annoyed when he cannot buy his favorite car, how displeased he is with his job though it pays well, how irritable he is at the end of a tiring day. He realised that while working - earning – living, he is only passing each day ticking the bucket list. He hardly Enjoys, He hardly Lives.

“Is this what is life?” he questioned his self.

“It is time to slow down. It is time to cherish the little time we have. It is time to give that extra pep to relationships. It is time to stop complaining. It is time to Live rather than survive.” He said to himself.

He repeated those phrases aloud as he rang the doorbell.

“Hi dear, you look tired yet I see some clarity in your face.  Have you got your long awaited promotion?” asked his wife.

“It is no more awaited” he mumbled.

“Ok, you get refreshed. I will get some tea for both of us.”

“What is this toy in your bag?” asked his wife as she took out the tupper ware boxes and emptied his lunch bag.

He took off his glasses, gently brushed the tears aside and said, “It belongs to the boy who loved trains.”

He paused and continued, “Keep it safe. It chaged my outlook towards life.”

He sincerely wished and prayed to meet that little boy again – in his favorite train or elsewhere.