Train tales Ch-3

Akam- Poetry Of Love

" I am Manu. She is Vaishali and she is my best friend, Srishti. " said the little boy when Romeo asked the kids their names. They were 7-8 years old.

When it was being decided who would be the wife and who would be the sister. The wife's role was decided to make food and the sister was free to choose hers. The parents interjected and told Vaishali to be the wife!

Srishti declared she would be the office girl.

The parents were happy that Vaishali was the wife and Manu was happy he would get to go office with Srishti.

But Romeo couldn't understand the reason when asked Vaishali's mom said " Manu and Vaishali were cross-cousins and Srishti was parallel. They shouldn't get wrong ideas in mind."

It was time for dinner and the family and Romeo opened their tiffins that they brought from home. Romeo had brought some sandwiches and french fries and the big family tiffins had all the Chappatis, Pulses, Rice, Curd, and fried Cauliflower and potato.

As Romeo was looking into their plates and missing his family, the children were into his sandwiches. When Romeo caught their eyes, he smirked and shared the food with them.

That's how Manu and Romeo became friends in Manu's mind or we can say that's how they started talking according to Romeo.

It's strange how children are so inclusive and how this beauty decreases as they grow up.

Manu just needed some food and an exchange of friendly smiles to start off. He just asked everything he could in those couple of minutes.

What does he do for a living?

Where are his parents?

Does he play cricket?

Has he gained three sixes in an over?

Does he know all the multiplication tables up to twenty?

When it was time to go to bed he insisted on sleeping with him. Romeo happily agreed to share his bed with the small curious creature.

As he opened up his phone, the kid pointed out the Harry Potter wallpaper unknown to him.

"Do you like this girl?" He said looking at Emma Watson.

"Yeah!"

"Will you marry her?"

Romeo laughed out loud. "No!!"

"Why?" He said.

"Will you marry her?" Romeo asked him with a smile.

"No! She is pretty but too old for me. I like a girl of my age and I am gonna marry her when I grow up."

" Really? Tell me about her." Romeo was amused.

"She is the prettiest,

And the wittiest,

With her beautiful eyes,

She is really nice,

Almost like a paradise

She makes me laugh

And I do her homework, on her behalf

I love to be with her,

I will not leave her ever,

We are best friends,

And I wish our story together ends.

It's something I wrote for her. "

"That's so beautiful, sweet-small lover. What's her name?" Romeo asked.

"Srishti. She is sleeping on that seat," said Manu.

Romeo was in shock while Manu was beaming.

Slowly, his smile too faded away with the mere sight of rejection in Romeo's eyes.

"Listen, you can't do that. You'll have abnormal kids, it's a proven fact. " Romeo said that and immediately realized he was talking to an eight-year-old.

"Really?" He said like, he understands the "abnormal kids" stuff totally.

"Umm... Sorry, kiddo!! You will find a better girl! Stay away from her."

"Why would you say that?" He uttered with abundant innocence.

"It's wrong. "

"Why wrong? "

"Do you want your parents to leave you? They will." He said that and turned his back to sleep without giving him the time to reply. He couldn't just look into his eyes.

The next morning when he got up, he could see them ready to leave for the station. The little boy was just lost in his own thoughts, he would neither reply to Srishti nor look at Romeo's eyes.

As they got out from the train Romeo opened his diary again, with a little guilt.

"Is marriage really just about kids?" Romeo wrote on a blank page in his diary to later ponder about it and find his version of the truth.