As I entered the platform that afternoon, I was delighted to see that the train was already seated and ready to board. I was more than happy to find that my second floor compartment was sparsely filled. The bright-looking young man was sitting hunched over his smartphone opposite me, and the two upper beds were empty. The bed on either side was empty. I formally approached the young man, slipped my handbag under the berth, and sat in my berth in the royal comforts. In general, I don’t chat too much with my fellow passengers. Because most of the time they let you down with their casual time pass manners, and to make matters worse, they always seem to take advantage of everything you sacrifice. So when I travel by train, I’m mostly busy with books and phone calls. Of course, you can enjoy food on the boat, as well as enjoy lying on a boat that makes you sleep soundly with rhythmic movements at night. My recipe works much more efficiently than the other methods.
I got a little annoyed when the supposedly high-speed train didn’t move an inch at the specified departure time. As the minutes passed, my irritation grew. As usual, there was no information or announcements, the platform could not detect any activity that could delay the departure and had a desolate look with all passengers already aboard. Finally, thirty minutes later, the train made a familiar creaking sound. I was annoyed that I could arrive hours late in the final tally due to an unexplained 30-minute delay. I wanted to express my anger by saying a few words to my only fellow passenger, but he immersed himself in surfing on his smartphone and completely forgot about delays or anything. Perhaps he had already developed a thick skin for all that antics of the Indian railroads. I thought a little prematurely and wisely. Now try to shake off the negative thoughts in your mind and hope that the train will definitely make up for the lost time.
The train, which had been running non-stop for an hour and a half, stopped at an intersection. More passengers who had booked at the station started boarding. A short, chubby middle-aged man with a short mustache and beard covering his horse’s face, poked his broad forehead higher, entered the carriage in jeans and a T-shirt and took the bottom. Anchoring in our block. His first words, ‘This damn train is already 40 minutes late’ were a warning all too familiar to me. He had two suitcases and a suitcase. Looking at the empty space around us with his greedy eyes, he shoved two suitcases under each of our beds, despite the empty space under his bed. I will call this person Mr. Negative or simply N. A tall and slender student also boarded and sat across from N, whose reservation was an upper bed. N immediately spoke to the student and began observing the super-fast express. Trains run up to 3-4 hours late on all trips in both directions, and that’s always a pain. I was more and more surprised, but he found a prepared and attentive audience in the student.
As it got dark outside and we grew tired of N’s greedy gaze and pessimistic predictions, we drew a curtain to keep N’s constant negative chatter. Just before dinner, N pulled down the curtains and entered our room as if he owned a railroad. He sat in the opposite berth, took off his shoes and slipped them under mine. At the time, I wasn’t quite ready for what he was going to do next.
He started undressing in front of me. His t-shirt came off, his pants rolled up, and finally came off, fortunately in the traditional long kind of underwear. Then he took out one of the suitcases from under my bed, opened it, and with the utmost care, pulled out a perfectly ironed pajama. He wore it with equal care and love. Then he folded his jeans and t-shirt as perfectly as possible and put it in his suitcase. Eventually he locked the bag, pushed it again, and left our room without even looking at me or the young man who was smiling at me now. Of course, N left the curtain aside, and I quickly pulled the curtain. ‘Unbelievable! That’s an impeccable specimen!’
Still, the night passed peacefully and I slept soundly. Just before breakfast time, a tall, handsome, handsome gentleman, dressed in a suit and tie, was passing us, probably in his fifties. He stopped, hurried to check our number, and finally sat down next to me. I didn’t say anything. During the day the two sat in the berth, and I guess the gentleman had reserved a seat.
