Amrita stopped at the entrance of the Howrah station and looked back at the crowd outside. She adjusted her handbag on her right shoulder, and brushed the corner of her left eye in a pretense of wiping off some dust that had accidentally invaded her moist eye. She was indeed wiping out an adamant teardrop from running down her cheek. She did not want any noticing from the passer-byes.

It was seven in the morning; she still had quite some time before her train left. With one final look at her beloved birthplace, she hurried in with her luggage. She crossed the morning crowd carefully and walked through the newer railway complex towards her platform. It was a regular busy day at the country's oldest and largest railway station. Porters in red, blue and white hurriedly walked carrying luggage or pushing goods carts. There were passengers scattered on the platforms waiting to board their trains. The platforms had small tea and magazine stalls to entertain waiting passengers. The January morning was still foggy, the chill cutting sharply through the skin and racing inside the body giving goose bumps.

Though Amrita was wearing a cardigan over full sleeves tee and jeans she wished she had a shawl to cover her head. How could she have remembered everything to pack? One had to consider her state of mind. She was thankful to her friend Rajiv for the last minute arrangement of the ticket. Rajiv had waited in the queue overnight to get her a ticket in Tatkal service. She was on platform 22 now and as per the electronic display board, her train is supposed to be arriving here anytime. There would be again some more time as the train staffs would make the train ready for the overnight journey and all the passengers settle in.

Here there were round benches circling the wide pillars that supported the platform roof. Amrita found an empty place on a concrete round bench and moved towards it lost in her thoughts. However, she ran straight into someone, her big suitcase wheeling over his left foot. She felt mortified and blabbered out an apology. The man uttered a curse and stopped mid-sentence when he fixed his eyes on Amrita. It was an awkward moment hanging in the air with the seconds ticking away, and Amrita didn't know what to do next. She simply stood there, her eyes sinking in sorrow and her heart was so heavy at the stranger's rude words but her lips remain sealed.

Was not the last two days of humiliation enough? Why then she has to bear more and that to from a stranger. She asked her God silently.

"Oh please don't feel bad, this is okay, there is nothing to be worried about" the stranger said as if he reciprocated to her mute accusation to God.

Amrita remained silent; the corners of her already swollen eyes burned. But she wouldn't cry, she needed to be strong, she couldn't break down now, after she decided to walk out on her family. The stranger's intense eyes now looked at her as if invading her personal space. Did he guess anything? Were the signs of her broken heart so visible?

He gestured in a courteous way with his hand, giving her way to pass.

Finally, finding her voice she said one more "sorry" and walked to the seat. Amrita was again lost in her thoughts; she did rewind the past two days in her mind. Her father was furious when he heard that she had auditioned for the reality show. He wanted her to study and study and study like her brother. He viewed her as an ICS officer not as a dancer or actor. The latter were Amrita's dream. She always loved dancing and cinema fascinated her. That was where she wanted to be, in the cinemas. In her early twenties, with a slim body, rosy complexion, almond-shaped eyes, and black mid-length thick layers of hair and a height of 5 ft 7 inches she scored quite high above the average looking. Besides her features, her presentation and acting skills if not excellent were at least noticeable. She had thus kept her hopes up.

But her father was so angry about her auditioning that he shouted at her in front of her entire family. She felt very low and disgusted. He had never been supportive to her, never been a friend or companion. When her mother was alive, Amrita had a world of happiness around her. She had learned to dance from her mother. But then her mother passed away. She had lost her only beloved to malaria. She met her mother for the last time in the hospital, wrapped in white sheets, with feeble pulse and high fever. The doctor said that they were too late to bring her in. She was only eight then and her brother thirteen. Her father never cared much for her mother, and did not consider the fever seriously. Amrita could never forget this and could never forgive her father. She in fact hated him. Slowly all strings of love and bonding were tearing away over the years. She only had her brother, but he too was busy in his own life. Amrita felt very lonely and only dancing could bring her happiness.

When her father learnt about her selection in the dance reality show, everything fell apart and her only happiness was slipping from her hands. He insulted her, insulted her late mother for Amrita's wrong upbringing and threw her belongings around her room. Her uncle and his family were also there. She tried to reason with him, but he was not ready to listen. Finally, he told her that she could only stay in his house if she dropped out of the show and listened to him. That was it, the last feeble string that had held her to her father snapped. She was free to leave.

The only place she could go was her Masi's. Her mother's cousin lived in Mumbai and Amrita was very attached to her. She knew that she could stay with her aunt until she was independent enough. She could also take part in the show, which venues in Mumbai. That decided, she had called her best friend and asked him to get her a train ticket to Mumbai. She quietly packed her things and left at dawn when her family was still sleeping. No one had to know where she was going; no one had to come after her, no strings attached anymore. In her heart, she even weighed the possibility of her father being happy of getting relieved of her. She carried with her some cash, which she had saved over the years.

Sitting at the bench, Amrita repeated her life over and over in her mind. This only brought more tears to her eyes. She felt so rootless right now in this huge railway station, among an ocean of faces. There was no face she could see now, that she could claim as dear to her. Her gaze was cut off by a pair of eyes. Those intense eyes again, black as a pit.

"Excuse me, Ma'am". He was the same man whose foot she had wounded earlier, only this time he was wearing a polite smile. She noticed the man properly now. He was probably in his mid twenties, a couple of years older than her. He had a bronze complexion, curly hair and sober features. He was taller than the average and carried a casual look wearing khakis and a checked cotton shirt. He stretched his right hand towards her. His shirt was folded up his wrist exposing a sun tanned skin and a leather band watch. Amrita noticed that he was holding a small bag in his hand. The bag was made of printed blue plastic with rounded squared edges and a zip holding its contents; that ordinary kind which sells on the footpaths of the markets nowadays. She gave a confused look at him.

"I think you dropped this when we ran into each other" he spoke again. Amrita noticed how this stranger shared the responsibility of the unintended collision with her. He might be feeling bad for his harsh words, she thought. Not everyone was like her father after all.

"Thank you, but... this is not mine" Amrita responded politely.

"Are you sure? It was lying there on the platform. I thought it had dropped off your luggage". He pointed with his hand to the place where Amrita had tripped over him.

"No, that is not mine. May be it belongs to someone else. Thank you anyway".

"Do you want to sit?" Amrita asked feeling bad that she had hurt his foot earlier.

"Sure" he smiled again, this time it was a captivating one. Amrita seldom noticed guys ever. She had always stayed focused on her dream and studies that she rarely mingled. Except for Rajiv and two other girls, her friend list had none. She was not even the kind socializing much over the internet. Having a boyfriend or a crush was totally out of the equation for her. But this man, there was something more than ordinary about him. She felt shy at her revelation. She adjusted herself to give him space to sit. He sat to her right keeping the bag in between them.

"Sorry about earlier. Did that hurt?" Amrita pointed to his feet.

"Umm not much, I believe you were in hurry for this seat". Was he teasing her or did he mean that actually? Amrita thought to herself.

"It is quite cold; I can never be up so early from bed in the winter. But today I came here to meet a relative." He looked at the empty tracks as he spoke. The metal bars on the tracks were wet from fog, at places there were small puddles of water too. Following his eyes, Amrita looked at the tracks too. As a child, she used to travel by train with her parents and brother to visit their relatives staying around Kolkata. They would be catching an early train from Howrah or Shealdah station and return by night or the next day. Like all kids, she had a liking for the trains. Her brother would stand nearly at the edge of the platform with her father looking at the tracks for the incoming train. She also wanted to do the same, but her mother would pull her away and wrap her arms around her holding her tight against her body. She was scared that Amrita would fall on the tracks and meet with accident. The thought of her mother struck a chord of pain in her heart.

"I am sorry, I didn't introduce myself. I am Shaurya Chakrabarty. I teach at the Calcutta University. And you?"

Amrita hesitated for a while and spoke "Amrita Dastidar, I am a student." She did not wish to share further and looked down at her watch.

"Ahh, you are going to Mumbai, right?"

This man was persistent; Amrita felt a little uneasy talking to a stranger.

"Mumbai is a nice city; I have been there couple of times during my academic seminars." He spoke and eyed her as if waiting for her turn to speak. He never looked below her eyes.

Amrita now spoke gingerly, "Well, I am visiting my aunt there." No one had to know about her past. Yes, past! That it was, her life here was a past. She was a new person now, no ties, no strings pulling her. She felt little better thinking this, her wings free of any bondage.

"Well, your train won't be here before half an hour I think and I have nothing to do right now", Shaurya pointed his right index finger towards the electronic display, which was now showing the re-scheduled arrival and departures for the trains. "So why don't we have some tea. Would you like some ginger tea?" he gave a short nod and smiled.

"Okay, but let me pay for you. I already troubled you so much." Amrita gestured towards the plastic bag "By the way, what shall we do about this?"

"Well, that can't happen. I assume I am a gentleman, and a gentleman never lets the lady pay. Let me buy the tea. As for the bag, it can wait for few more minutes." Shaurya stood up and strolled towards the nearest tea stall.

Amrita noticed that he faltered slightly as he got up from her side. The bag wheels must have bumped his toe where they peeked out of his sandal, she thought to herself. Then she remembered something. She opened her handbag, which was made of tanned leather and spacious with two big zip pockets and a back smaller zipped holder. From one of the zips, hung a key chain with two big dangling bells; one was silver and one was golden color. Between the bells, there shone a studded star. The bag was a gift from her brother on her last birthday. She had picked up the key chain from an imitation jewelry shop at the Gariahat market. She opened one of the pockets and looked through its belongings. After few missed tries, she located a small tube of ointment. She took it out and looked up to find Shaurya walking towards their bench with two clay cups of hot tea. The smell of ginger tea tantalized her nostrils as Shaurya rested the cups beside her. He then sat down. Amrita handed him the tube.

"Please apply this on your feet, it will ease the pain" she spoke avoiding looking into his eyes.

"Oh, there is no need. Believe me, I am absolutely fine."

"Please I insist", she pressed. He smiled and took the tube. He opened the cap and took out a little ointment and applied on his toe. "Take some more, put it there too" Amrita pointed at his other toes. Shaurya took out some more ointment, applied on the rest of his toes and sealed the cap of the tube. He then handed it to Amrita saying "Thanks, but this was absolutely not needed. Thanks, anyways. Please have the tea, it will cool down fast" he gestured at the clay cups. Amrita took a cup and handed it to him. She then held the other cup with her palms and took a long sip. They both enjoyed the hot beverage and keep quiet for almost a minute. Shaurya poured the remaining of his tea inside his mouth and looked at Amrita to find that she had already finished hers. He took both the cups and threw it to a nearby bin. As they at together now, their eyes fell on the blue bag that sat between them. Amrita was not sure what to do; at least the bag would help her to engage in a conversation with Shaurya. Else it would be difficult for her to acknowledge his presence, ignoring him would be difficult further and altogether impolite. She said, "Shall we deposit it to the railway's help kiosk?"

"Hmm, you are right I think. But why not open it and see if there is anything inside that can help us contact its owner? If there is something valuable, I am not sure whether it will reach its owner intact." Amrita hesitated at first but then understood what he meant and nodded in agreement. They both moved away a little making more space for the bad between them.

"Ladies first" Shaurya gave her an impish grin and she almost giggled. It was like opening a treasure box from a storeroom secretively in a quiet afternoon as everybody else napped. She felt a bit excited as she pulled open the zipper and pushed aside the lid. They both peeked in like eager children.|