Chapter 1: The Woman At The Crossroad

Another Monday dawned.  

Streets teemed with men and women racing ahead of time, kids shuttling between tuitions and school, and bone-worn seniors soaking up the post-winter sun.  

At a suburban railway station, Devang Chaudhary, early thirties, grunted, groaned, and squeezed through the door of a crowded local train along with ten others. 

He was the kind of white-collar executive you’d bump into at a busy station every day – neat formals, unbuttoned collar, and a laptop strapped over the shoulder.  

“Dude! Watch it!” he snapped when his laptop crushed dangerously amidst sweaty bodies.  

He plopped in through the train’s door and grabbed the first thing he could to break his fall: hand straps.  

The train inched forward with a painful bellow of its siren.  

There was barely half a foot of standing space. Now and then, an elbow or two nudged into his sides or a stray foot over his own. Yet, he kept his cool and caught his breath. Hectic? Yes. But exciting and worth looking forward to.  

For Devang Chaudhary, fondly known as Dev in his circle of friends, family, and colleagues, this marked the beginning of a new journey in his life. It was his first day on his dream job.  

A month back, after a grueling series of tough interviews, he bagged a challenging senior role at a Fortune 500 company in the city.  

Towering at a good 6’2, Dev struggled to stand at ease in the congested train. A particularly strong-smelling passenger before him added to his woes. Restricted breaths. Turning away. Looking up. Looking down. He tried it all but alas! Nothing gave him relief. Starving for air, he gently shouldered past to the door earning many dirty looks on the way.  

He reached the door only to find it taken by a dark, balding man in his 40’s. Either way, he pushed through and hungrily gasped in a deep whiff of pure, fresh oxygen… blended with thick fumes from the train and the disgusting reek of toilets at the station. Something in his throat and stomach churned, making him gag.  

The balding man noticed. “It’ll be gone few minutes from here,” he stated.  

“Huh?” Dev looked up, breathless and puzzled.  

“The stench from the toilets,” he clarified. 

“Oh, okay,” Dev mumbled sheepishly and looked away, a little embarrassed.  

“My initial days were kind of similar. Eventually, I learned to hold my breath.” The balding man smiled and threw another glance at Dev. “I haven’t seen you around by the way. New to this part of town?” 

“Yes,” Dev replied. 

 “New posting?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Where?” 

“Bharat Industries.” 

“Oh really? Wonderful place to work.” 

“Thanks,” Dev smiled.  

“I work at Arson Smith by the way,” the balding man stated proudly. 

“I see! I have a friend who works there.” 

“Really? Which department?” 

“Engineering. Gaurav Saran.” 

“I know him! He’s your friend!” 

“Batch mates from college,” Dev answered.  

Gradually, the train picked up speed and chugged through a decent suburb lined with identical duplex houses on either side. Two rail tracks ran parallel in between.  

Dev began to enjoy the ride. He was thrilled to stand at the door, to have the wind slap through his hair and clothes while feasting on the sights outside.  

Soon, the train slowed down and came to a stop.  

Dev looked around. They were parked at some desolate place with nothing but tall grass around. He glanced at his watch. Three minutes had passed. “Are we at a station or something?” he asked the balding man. 

“Not really,” he answered. “There’s a crossing here. The express train is due any minute.” He paused to listen. “Talk about the devil. Here it comes.” 

A BLARE closed in fast and SLAPPED past.  

WHEEEEEEE-WHIZZZZZZ-CHUG-CHUG….  

CLICKITY-CLACK…. CHUG-CHUG…. CLICKITY-CLACK…. 

A never-ending blur of blue whizzed past.  

“This happens every day?” Dev shouted over the thundering noise. 

“Every day except the weekends,” the balding man blasted back

.  

After the last bit of the express train chugged out of view, their train began to roll when his eyes fell on the house across the empty track – a decent, single-story with a dainty vegetable garden. It had its back to the passing trains. What caught his attention was something else.

In the backyard was a beautiful young lady, a chiffon saree wrapped over her slender frame. She looked like early twenties and had big, sparkling, expressive eyes and soft, flowing hair as lush as silk. She crouched and sprinkled a generous handful of grains for her pets – a couple of chickens and a rooster. They picked furiously with one of them even stopping to give her a playful peck. She giggled, bringing a smile on Dev’s lips without him even knowing it.  

Despite her smile, the profound sadness that consumed her didn’t fail to make its mark, one that seemed as though she was drowning it all in the only world around her – the chickens.  

I wonder what it is; he thought and scanned the surroundings. Does she live alone?  

He craned his neck to get a better look, but the house looked empty. The only part which gave an illusion of life was the kitchen at the back. But that could probably be so because of her presence in there.  

Absentminded, he set his empty gaze on her beautiful smile and expressive eyes. 

She’s actually cute, he thought with a soft grin. Her smile is so innocent… her eyes are so bright, her hair so silky… her… hang on, Dev. This is so not you. Since when did you engage in bird watching? Dev had always been the studious type who dared to dream and take calculated steps in reaching his goal. 

They started to pull out, but Dev couldn’t take his eyes off her. Something about her kept pulling him back like a magnet, tempting him to turn around over and over again, he simply couldn’t figure out what. 

Soon, they were zipping over a single track and closing in on the next station. Minutes later, Dev alighted at his stop.  

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