The Day/Night I Travelled Alone

In all my 22 years of existence the only time I have ever travelled alone was maybe when I was born…but that too I doubt would be counted considering I was still tied to Mom by the umbilical cord. So last night was the first time I could put to use the “don’t talk to strangers, don’t put your hand outside the window” rules. I was travelling from the steel city of Odisha back to its capital trough the Naxalite-infested jungles (pointed out rather helpfully by a friend). My parents never let me play with fire but put me right into the frying pan I say!

My father had made it clear that the seat in the bus beside me was to be strictly occupied by a female. So all dreams of me drowsily dropping off on a handsome lad’s shoulder & then we falling in love were shattered. Least of all I wished that seat remained empty so I could use the extra leg space. But of course the seat had to be occupied & occupied by a 60+ year old.

Now no offence meant to any elders but trust me, they want to know everything about you! What college I went to, why was I in Rourkela, where are my parents, where do I stay in Bhubaneswar…boy CID could use a new officer! At about 11:30pm I finally decided to nod off to sleep & avoid her. But as usual I never have much luck in my endeavours, for the bus suddenly came to a halt in the middle of the jungle! The lights switched back on & a rather puny man came up & asked everyone to get down. I could feel my heart thumping rapidly. This was the end. The Naxals had taken over this bus & we’d be in tomorrow’s news! The lady next to me had woken up too or was already awake I guess. She turned to me & asked-“soi chu?” (asleep?) I was too dumbfounded to speak. Then she slowly bent down & removed  something from her bag. “Here eat this” she offered me a Lays! Hello, lady we are being kidnapped!!! I wanted to scream out. But then I noticed others getting down the bus calmly & soon it dawned on me. This was an opportunity to answer Mother Nature’s call.

I opened that packet of Lays & shoved two in my mouth before the “don’t accept food from any stranger” flashed in my head. Too late I gulped, trying to make out anything funny in the taste of the chips. Yes, this was definitely too salty. Oh God she’s gonna sell my kidneys now! I quietly shove the packet down the seat without her noticing & pretended to fall asleep again. The fact that my mobile had no network didn’t help me either. And so I spent the better half of the journey in between pretending to be asleep & actually sleeping until 6:30am when I was safely back in my good old home. Now I’m not going out ever alone in a bus/train/plane/ship until & unless I obtain a license for a gun or a pepper spray at least!