Bespectacle Me

Bespecatacle Me

The vacant seat on the south-bound metro, seemed to glare at Urmila, asking, 'I was just waiting for you, won't you have a seat? '
Urmila was a bit surprised as getting a seat from Esplanade was sporadic, and that too a senior citizen's seat. Urmila had enough work for the day. It was March, but the sun didn't seem as if it was interested to take a break and let the spring bloom. She was sweating, but the cool air conditioned compartment made her nerves serene and relaxed. She quickly rushed for the seat, and her co-passenger with this sudden 'demand' of seat, gave a jerk, shifting to the other side.

Urmila, bit her tongue and was on her way to apologize for this sudden rush for the seat, when her eyes met with a familiar pair of sunglasses belonging to her sexagenarian co-passenger. A man, maybe as the same age, as that of Urmila, wearing an olive green shirt and cream pants, with a pair of slightly reddish sunglasses.
Smiling Urmila said, "Sugato those glasses are still the cherry on your cake?"
"Is it Urmila? "
"Oh! Mr. Sugato Halder recognises his former Bangalore colleague', her wrinkles fading away in a relaxing manner.
"How many years has it been? "
"Ah! Maybe, fifteen years? "
"Sensing you, after all these years unexpectedly makes me happy", said Sugato, adjusting his glasses.
"I am taking that as a compliment. You never expected to meet me after all these years, did you?"
"I actually did not, Urmi."
" Oh my! I heard that name after so long. You remember you had coined that name when I was stooping over your cubicle and trying to find a code while you were really busy with some assignment"
" And this man, shouted loudly, 'Urmi  let me just do my work!' "
" That was the beginning of some chit-chat between a careless girl and a 24x7 working boy"
" Only chit-chat you say. ", said Sugato laughing.
" Well, nothing has changed just like your obsession with those red sunglasses"
'I cannot help but keep them, those are my prized possession', said Sugato proudly.
Urmila stared at Sugato the entire time, he did not change, he was still the man, she left him as. His face was now home to some wrinkles and his scalp containing a majority of white hairs.

Urmila quickly shifted her eyes and said, 'The last day when we met, rather we talked back in 2005, I remember you were just beating about the bush over the phone. You did not even come to see me off. You actually turned your coat Sugato. I was leaving for Kolkata and you went for some work to Vellore. You did not even say me a goodbye. I tried to contact you, but you were out of reach. Eight years, Mr. Halder, and not a moment to say goodbye?. You always remained a workaholic! '
The announcement on the metro about the arrival of Rabindra Sadan, interrupted the conversation.
Rising up, Urmila said, " It's my station,I need to leave. You are on Facebook? I'll catch up with you there then. "
Sugato nodded.
During the influx, when Urmila saw the face of her former Bangalore colleague probably for the last time, the last words of the bespectacled wrinkled man, 'Maybe glaucoma just paused everything? ', faded among the chaos.