With twenty rupees & few coins in hand, i searched once again.. this time every inch & corner of my bag where my fingers could reach out; but, alas there were no more coins. With a disappointed look, i turned away from the Pre-paid auto rickshaw service outside Forum mall & thought, 'Will take a walk!'
Will take a walk? what on earth was i thinking..or was i even thinking? the only thing that was running in my mind with 'sirens' was that i had to reach home & it was already late, to make it worse, it started drizzling! For a quick second, tried to recall the 'lot of friends' of mine, if incase any of them could just drop me home, but even that didn't seem to be possible. 'Lot of friends'? that's an irony b'coz the so called 'lot' was no more than what i could count on my fingers.
With a broadend & scrutinizing gaze at the crowd & the moving traffic on the road, i was somehow confident that with a mild bravery i can 'walk' back to home, after all it's a city & nothing can dare to happen so long i keep walking on the main street.. how convincing! The drizzling started getting heavier & i paced my walk fast enough passing the people on the road, some waiting for buses & some for autos & a quick flash of disappointment passed over : Why? b'cause there were no direct buses & not enough bucks for the auto fare. For a split-second, the economic value of a boyfriend's existence crossed my mind. But since i had none & it was impossible to make one at that moment, walking seemed to be the best option available. The road map in my mind didn't seem to be difficult to achieve as the streets that i was supposed to take was well-versed; all i had to do was - Just walk. Well, the anticipation of 30-45 minutes walkable distance turned out to be 5-6 Km distance! Realized it once i started walking; Cars, bikes & those few auto rickshaws passed by like jets but, splashing mud water. My confidence level was cut down to half by the time i walked a mile and a half on a drizzling night post 9.30 pm, streets were deserted & the crowd which was visible till then seemed to disappear in a click!
The weather was chilled..with droplets of rain pouring over my hood, those doubtful stares from people passing by in vehicles & whoever were there closing down their stores & me - sweating. For a moment, i wished if i had wings or, probably like in Harry Potter if i could just 'Disapparate'!! My legs were already tired & fatigued, couldn't just feel them anymore but only a numbness along with a fear as to 'What if i fall & can't get up to continue walking any further? would i be spending the entire night on street & how am i supposed to hide myself from anybody's view?' With all those fears in my mind, i kept walking, wasn't sure whether taking a lift from somebody be useful or harmful. I checked my watch & it ticked 10:20 pm & all i was able to cover a distance of 2 Km passing Tilak Nagar by then. I broke down to tears but tried hiding it soon enough. My goal was unattainable & the max i could do was to reach Jayanagar Main bus station from where i could get a bus till JP Nagar, although it wouldn't take me to my house street but once am in the area, i can manage, at least.. i had that remaining confidence (i smiled). My adrenaline rush was at it's peak point, all set & ready to help me reach the bus station. I could feel nothing but only the silence of that night, damp weather with a chilled temperature, wet street with the lights on & for a moment it felt like i could hear my own heartbeats!! I passed the closed stores & those houses which were filled now with it's inhabitants making it alive once again; instantly reminded of my family. Thought about my friends who were probably having their dinner & nobody had a clue as to where i was. With my mind filled with enumerous thoughts, my feet subconsciously led me to the direction towards the station.
Was now able to see a small crowd of 5-6 people of which only one was a lady, probably she was traveling with her husband, stood there along with other passengers counting every ticks of the watch, i felt a short wave of relief to be amidst of them with awaiting glances at each of those buses passing by. It didn't take long to spot the writing on the board tagged in front of the Bus - 2A, my confidence level boosted up. Since, the roads were empty it hardly took the bus 10 minutes to reach the nearest bus stop to my area. Now i just had another 15 minutes walkable distance to my room, my legs were relaxed now & it was easy to pick up the speed again. The only fear that i had now was not from humankind but from Dogs!! the population on the streets at night time were usually the other way round. The drizzling became mild by then & cold wind blew giving goosebumps. The only sound that i could listen to was that of branches & leaves with faint whispers of the 2-3 people who were on or across the other side of the road. My destination seemed to be finally visible; with a deep sigh, i took a turn across the road to my house street, took a minute-long glance at my building with lights of few rooms still seen with audible loud chats & laughter; made me feel 'alive'. Who could imagine that i just had the most scariest night of my life! That night i slept like to never wake up again. It's been five and a half years now & yet to think about that particular night, every minute details of those 3 hours are still so fresh & live. It's one of the unspoken & unshared instances of those terrific & ecstatic adventures of mine.
Cheers!!
Will take a walk? what on earth was i thinking..or was i even thinking? the only thing that was running in my mind with 'sirens' was that i had to reach home & it was already late, to make it worse, it started drizzling! For a quick second, tried to recall the 'lot of friends' of mine, if incase any of them could just drop me home, but even that didn't seem to be possible. 'Lot of friends'? that's an irony b'coz the so called 'lot' was no more than what i could count on my fingers.
With a broadend & scrutinizing gaze at the crowd & the moving traffic on the road, i was somehow confident that with a mild bravery i can 'walk' back to home, after all it's a city & nothing can dare to happen so long i keep walking on the main street.. how convincing! The drizzling started getting heavier & i paced my walk fast enough passing the people on the road, some waiting for buses & some for autos & a quick flash of disappointment passed over : Why? b'cause there were no direct buses & not enough bucks for the auto fare. For a split-second, the economic value of a boyfriend's existence crossed my mind. But since i had none & it was impossible to make one at that moment, walking seemed to be the best option available. The road map in my mind didn't seem to be difficult to achieve as the streets that i was supposed to take was well-versed; all i had to do was - Just walk. Well, the anticipation of 30-45 minutes walkable distance turned out to be 5-6 Km distance! Realized it once i started walking; Cars, bikes & those few auto rickshaws passed by like jets but, splashing mud water. My confidence level was cut down to half by the time i walked a mile and a half on a drizzling night post 9.30 pm, streets were deserted & the crowd which was visible till then seemed to disappear in a click!
The weather was chilled..with droplets of rain pouring over my hood, those doubtful stares from people passing by in vehicles & whoever were there closing down their stores & me - sweating. For a moment, i wished if i had wings or, probably like in Harry Potter if i could just 'Disapparate'!! My legs were already tired & fatigued, couldn't just feel them anymore but only a numbness along with a fear as to 'What if i fall & can't get up to continue walking any further? would i be spending the entire night on street & how am i supposed to hide myself from anybody's view?' With all those fears in my mind, i kept walking, wasn't sure whether taking a lift from somebody be useful or harmful. I checked my watch & it ticked 10:20 pm & all i was able to cover a distance of 2 Km passing Tilak Nagar by then. I broke down to tears but tried hiding it soon enough. My goal was unattainable & the max i could do was to reach Jayanagar Main bus station from where i could get a bus till JP Nagar, although it wouldn't take me to my house street but once am in the area, i can manage, at least.. i had that remaining confidence (i smiled). My adrenaline rush was at it's peak point, all set & ready to help me reach the bus station. I could feel nothing but only the silence of that night, damp weather with a chilled temperature, wet street with the lights on & for a moment it felt like i could hear my own heartbeats!! I passed the closed stores & those houses which were filled now with it's inhabitants making it alive once again; instantly reminded of my family. Thought about my friends who were probably having their dinner & nobody had a clue as to where i was. With my mind filled with enumerous thoughts, my feet subconsciously led me to the direction towards the station.
Was now able to see a small crowd of 5-6 people of which only one was a lady, probably she was traveling with her husband, stood there along with other passengers counting every ticks of the watch, i felt a short wave of relief to be amidst of them with awaiting glances at each of those buses passing by. It didn't take long to spot the writing on the board tagged in front of the Bus - 2A, my confidence level boosted up. Since, the roads were empty it hardly took the bus 10 minutes to reach the nearest bus stop to my area. Now i just had another 15 minutes walkable distance to my room, my legs were relaxed now & it was easy to pick up the speed again. The only fear that i had now was not from humankind but from Dogs!! the population on the streets at night time were usually the other way round. The drizzling became mild by then & cold wind blew giving goosebumps. The only sound that i could listen to was that of branches & leaves with faint whispers of the 2-3 people who were on or across the other side of the road. My destination seemed to be finally visible; with a deep sigh, i took a turn across the road to my house street, took a minute-long glance at my building with lights of few rooms still seen with audible loud chats & laughter; made me feel 'alive'. Who could imagine that i just had the most scariest night of my life! That night i slept like to never wake up again. It's been five and a half years now & yet to think about that particular night, every minute details of those 3 hours are still so fresh & live. It's one of the unspoken & unshared instances of those terrific & ecstatic adventures of mine.
Cheers!!
