"Thank you so much!",Tara expressed her gratitude as she sat on the train berth. Her ankle was paining like hell.
That girl smiled at her and said as she rummaged through her tote bag,"Arey it's okay dear, ye toh accha hua maine yahin khidki se tumhe dekh liya tha bhagte hue, varna sahi mein train chuth jati".
She pulled out a spray from her bag and shake it properly. Tenderly holding her leg she said,"Abhi thikh ho jayega",but Tara stopped her and said,"It's okay , mere paas hai". The girl didn't gave any heed to her pleads and applied the spray on her twisted ankle. "Arey abhi tum apne bag se spray nikalti isse accha main hi kar deti hoon".
After making Tara comfortable on the berth, that girl sat on the opposite berth and said," Ab dekhna thodi der mein pair thikh ho jayega",she said as she passed her a smile.
Tara smiled back while the girl introduced herself,"By the way I am Vanya Srivastava, and you?". She forwarded her hand. Tara shook hands with her and said,"I am Tara Aggarwal,nice to meet you".
"Tara Aggarwal...hmmm...naam suna suna sa lag rha hai",Vanya started going through memories when the realization dawned upon her and she squealed,"No way! You are the author of The Smiling Lady and The Lost Park?"
Tara heartedly smiled at her. A small voice from inside her heart was screaming the words that this Vanya girl was going to be a great journey buddy.
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Vanya became a great aqantiance in no time. She talked about various things whereas Tara mainly remained a mute listener.
Vanya told her that she was a graphic designer and was born in Mumbai. She lived with her family and indeed she was on a solo trip to Kerala.
Vanya was completely opposite of her. She was a bit more talkative than Tara. Vanya had light brown eyes, long straight brown hair and was wearing white top with green trousers.
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The only thing Tara felt related was that even her journey buddy was a chashmish.
Soon both the ladies dozed off on their berths.
Tara woke up when the train stopped at a railway station. She lazily sat straight and stretched herself. She looked at Vanya who was dozing off on the berth. She looked outside the window and saw a yellow board that board the name of the station.
A chaiwala was roaming around the platform in order to gain customers saying ,"Chai! Chai!".
Through the window, Tara gestured him to come instead of shouting out loud to keep Vanya asleep. But the moment the chaiwala approached towards them ,Vanya woke up from her deep slumber. Tara asked for two cups of chai and paid him. Meanwhile Vanya also stretched herself and yawned. She smiled at her companion of the journey and slowly went towards the exit gate. There she purchased some snacks, chips and biscuits from a shop and came back to her place.
Soon the journey resumed with the speed of the train. It was 3:50 pm. Ladies kept their cups and biscuits on that foldable tray.
Its started raining making the moment more memorable.
Both the ladies pulled their hand out of the grilled window to feel rain on their hand. It was all so new for Tara. She wished for the journey to never come to an end.
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Bidding adieu became one of the toughest thing for that introvert writer. She never thought that someone would become so dear to her in just a day.
Tara and Vanya hugged each other and exchanged mobile numbers, promising that they would remain in touch.
The railway station was filled with people . It was literally raining cats and dogs.
Tara carried her luggage and headed towards the hotel.
The capital of Kerala welcomed her.
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It was almost 12 noon when Tara retried in her room.
This solo trip was nothing but just a blessing for dear Tara. She always wished for staying in a cottage room and now, it was her time to relish each and everything she dreamt for.
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She first took a long bath and then wore a simple t-shirt and a pajama. She ordered for some fried rice and tea and sat on the bed with the laptop.
She first thought for some story plots and typed them on the laptop. After like half an hour ,the staff knocked on the door carrying her food. As the waiter kept the food on the table, Tara gave him some tip and he took his leave not before flashing a smile full of gratitude.
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Each and every sip of the tea was soothing her soul. Sitting on a soft bed with refreshing tea , laptop and that awesome time of monsoon. And it's not just monsoon... Kerala's monsoon. Best moment of life.
Tara was searching on some best tourist places of Trivandrum on the internet when something caught her eye.
A news bit of a murder occurred in Kochi 30 years ago flashed on the screen. She immediately clicked on the news article and started going through the details of that 30 year old murder.
An adopted son killed his old parents for the house property and was sentenced to death. Now , recently some locals spoke about ghost sightings in that now abandoned house.
This really left Tara sad.
Little did she knew that she was soon going to be a part of this facade. Just for a night though.
