Lost & Found

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”.