Unspoken Tale

"Oh man, how many people will get off? The train is about to start, hurry up and get down!"

Amidst the chaos, this voice reached my ears, but my focus was solely on reaching Delhi. The crowd was overwhelming, but somehow, I managed to get on the train. I had hoped to find a seat and travel comfortably, but fate had something else in store—there were no seats available. Since I had to go, I resigned myself to standing.

"Oh man, it's crowded again today! I told Mom to book a ticket, now I'll have to stand the whole way..."

It was the same voice I had heard before boarding the train. I turned around to look, and there she was, standing with a white scarf. Seeing her felt strangely familiar, as if I had seen her somewhere before. Perhaps because she had boarded from my city.

The train started moving. A cool breeze drifted in through the window. I walked towards it and stood there, but my thoughts kept pulling me toward her. She glanced at me once but quickly looked away.

"Some faces,

Feel like a familiar bond,

We meet them along the journey,

But the story never completes..."

She stood by the window, her hair swaying gently in the breeze. There was something in her eyes—an unspoken emotion, like a forgotten memory, like an old tune echoing faintly in my ears.

I closed my eyes and listened to the rhythm of my heartbeat. What was this? A strange longing, one that was limited only to looking. I glanced at her again—she was lost in thought. Perhaps, somewhere in her mind, something similar was unfolding—

"Some people meet,

Just to cross paths,

But destiny never

Writes their story together..."

The train moved at its usual speed, but time felt like it had frozen. We exchanged glances many times, but no words built a bridge between us. It was just a silent journey of eyes, with no destination.

The station was approaching, and an inexplicable feeling settled within me. Would this just end like this? Are some things meant to stay unsaid? Perhaps, yes...

"Some tales never find completion,

Some characters never meet again,

But that one moment,

Remains alive forever in the book of the heart..."

The train stopped. She got down, smiled at me for a brief moment, and then disappeared into the crowd.

I stood there, like the last unread page of an unspoken story.

—Kunal Gupta