(Letter to a Nameless Face)
When I first set my eyes on you, you were standing there looking lost and baffled but still trying to appear sensible. I just gave you a momentary gaze and turned to my book and engrossed myself in reading. And I did not want to let the outside surroundings infringe my personal space with pointless noises.
But then the noises started and slowly built up to a crescendo and suddenly all eyes were on you. And I too joined the crowd. How could I ignore ? You were the only one standing in the train compartment and in case you did not know, it was a shatabdi train where everyone gets in with a valid ticket. The ticket collector was only doing his job and he was right in reprimanding you when you said that you had no ticket and did not know where you were heading to. He was a kind man seeing that he was talking to you with concern and asking you questions which you faltered to answer. He left you behind but I could perceive that he was disturbed by your conduct.
And you were lucky. Did you notice that after the ticket collector left, everyone in the compartment returned to their own activities ? All except for one. And here he’s the Good Samaritan. He was seated next to me and he summoned you when tears started to roll down your lovely rounded cheeks. Had he not cajoled you into revealing your state of mind, you would have just blended into the crowd and, with time, would have faded from everyone’s minds.
A student of seventh standard would be hardly into her teens and you made the gravest mistake by simply hoping into a train, not knowing where to head to, only because your mother beat you up for some reason. Your father may have died some time ago but its not only you who misses him and is angry with the world…you forgot your mother for whom you’re the only companion left…You’re her baby and she has been harsh on you because she loves you. Weren’t these the words spoken to you when the kind old man was trying to make you understand your mistake ? You were dressed in tidy attire with lots of bangles, neatly braided long hair, huge dark eyes and chubby cheeks and anyone could make out that you came from a decent family.
There’s a big bad world out there and a pretty girl like you would have fallen into the eyes of the ravenous and insatiable evil lurking in all the corners. But in your fury nothing came into your mind apart from running away. After he finally coaxed you to go back and saw you off at the nearest station, the kind old man returned to his seat heaving a sigh of relieve. And as the train chugged off, he even strained his neck to catch a glimpse of you from the window with the hope that you’d turn back home. He and I had pooled money for your return journey. That was also his idea, not mine. You had met your guardian angel that evening and I hope one day you would realize…
The kind old man has three grand-daughters similar to your age and he said he saw their likeness in you. We left you behind but the old man anxiously kept asking me whether you’d really head for home to which I could only assure. Have you ? Have you kept your word that you’d take the next train home; that you’d say sorry to your mother and make up for all those long hours of agony she’d have gone through after you went missing from home ? Did the sense of right and wrong prevail, my dear little girl ? Are you home yet ?
