Lost
& Found
I remember that night as if it was yesterday, clear and
vivid. I walked out of the railway station alone, with only my handbag. I was
lost in my own thoughts and moved along the path that was unfamiliar. It was
late and I could see only a handful of people on the road. It was both scary
and comforting to see a few fellow humans on the road. Scary- as in what if
there was someone lurking in the dark and comforting that it was not totally
void of humans. A girl does feel scared to walk the road, with the fear of
being abducted or even further sinister consequences. At that time, I didn’t
know precisely where to go, so I had to pick one of the paths from the rest.
From a distance, I heard muffled noises, as if somebody was
playing loud music and the door being opened and closed at discrete intervals.
I tracked the sound and walked slowly keeping a watch all around. The
population increased as I approached the source of the sound. I felt happy and
approached the bar.
There were many people crammed in that place, some were
seated and some stood tall. Most of them had a drink in their hand. I browsed
through the fellow associates who had occupied the bar at the same time. There
were some very pretty ladies with lesser clothes. Their hair went in all directions
and not one of them looked odd. They simply looked stunning and beautiful. They
were raising toast for every drink that was placed on their table and they even
shouldered all the men in whose company they found peace and happiness. Some
women were older and I wasn’t sure if they had come in with their husbands. Maybe
their better halves were at someplace else more important than this bar.
Few of them were boys and girls and I didn’t know if they
should be allowed to enter and share drinks. I shouldn’t be allowed too, but
somehow I sneaked passed the security guards. There were others who seemed like
office goers and had come there because it was a weekend. They were talking
intellectual and most of their topic was related to ‘how to grow financially’
or ‘which company could make them happier’. If there was another topic it had
to be of ‘girls’. There were other old gentlemen who were having this air of
superiority to go with the hefty amounts deposited in the bank accounts. There
were carefully watching the crowd that had turned up that day and simultaneously
having their usual conversation.
I took a peek of my own. Most of the people were indulged in
their own drinks and the way their life had spanned. I further looked at them
all. After careful observation I saw a man, probably in his mid-thirties. He
was wearing a rimless frame with lenses that were not over excessively
expensive. He wore a dark blue collared t-shirt to go with the even darker
shade of denims. He was with two of his friends. He looked a little nervous
maybe because he wasn’t drinking, while all the others around him were reeking
of alcohol, cluttering their glasses and shouting ‘Cheers’. He kept looking at
this watch as if he had to be somewhere else. Something worried him that was
missing among all the other occupiers of the bar.
As I was glanced and made my own assumptions about the
person, he appeared to catch me unguarded. Within that moment our eyes were in
line and nothing seemed to come in between. He saw my eyes- and I saw his. He gave
a look of concern as well as misperception. Maybe he was confused regarding the
next step he should take. Our eyes didn’t blink and we kept watching each
other. He sensed the melancholy that had filled my heart. I saw his look change
from partially confused to fully concerned. Within a split second, he put down
his soft drink.
He signalled to his friends about my existence, but before
his companions could spot me I hid myself behind a wall. He kept pointing out
in my direction, but his friends were least bothered. After a minute he gave up
too. He retired to his drink but there was still my image at the back of his
mind, I could sense it as he looked even more worried than before. He knew it
and I knew it as well. The entire time I was out-alone and indecisive on the
next step. But, when I glanced at him I knew within that one very moment that
this man in picture is the one man I wanted to be with.
I took another glimpse from the corner of my eye and he was
still searching for me. I knew it that it was right and I could not afford to
waste time. I made up my mind to meet him and talk to him. The next moment I
took a look at his table and he was gone. I felt bad and lonely, just the same
way how I had been feeling the entire night. Probably he had gone to the place
he was worried about, but I hadn’t seen him heading for the exit. I had lost
the time and now it seemed that it was hard to make up for it. ‘The door of
opportunity knocks only once’, this saying was coming to be true. I stood and
scanned the entire bar once again and still there was no sign of him.
Could I walk up to his friends and ask them about his
whereabouts? Probably that would be a bad decision as they didn’t seem as noble
as he was. I was scared and looked for him everywhere. It took about another
thirty seconds before I saw him reappear in my range of vision. Apparently he
had gone to the washroom. I didn’t want to waste another precious moment and I
took rather lengthy stride making advancements in his direction. I slowly
reached in his vicinity without him even noticing me. I mustered all courage
and touched his arm. He saw me and rose without any hesitation. He signalled
his friends and took me outside.
He asked my name and the reason I was there. I told him
everything and it took me roughly seven minutes to give him my story. He looked
me in the eyes and embraced me. The warm embrace felt very assuring and I knew
that my decision was right. He was the right man. He held me with a tight grip
as he walked towards his car. He abruptly ended his party and took me home. His
house wasn’t far from the bar and we reached there in no time. On the way we
picked up dinner for both of us. We entered the house silently and tip toed our
way to the kitchen.
He withdrew two plates from the drawer and placed it carefully
on the dining table, making no sounds. I sat on a chair and saw him doing all
the needful. We didn’t speak much during the late hour dinner. After us both
finished our dinner he asked me for anything else that I wanted. I bluntly
replied no and asked him where the bedroom was. It had been a difficult day it
was better to end it with a smile on the face and a bloated stomach. He walked
me into one of the rooms. He carefully switched on the lights and brought me
closer to the bed. Thence, he pulled the quilt and told me to stand closer to
the bed.
With a slight shrug he woke up the person sleeping on that
bed and said “Son, from today this is your younger sister and her name is
Alisha”.
