Reservation
The morning rays penetrated
through him. The cool water tickled his back, as he wiped a bead of
sweat from his filtrum*. “How alike?” he thought, carrying fifty rupees
worth of labour on his shoulders. The train was already at the
station, he wondered why the mustached uniformed man wouldn’t let him
board the train. His load kept getting heavier with each passing
moment. What would he not give to curl himself up in a corner and go to
sleep.
He looked at the weathered
blue seats. He had walked almost the entire night with water on his
back, just to catch this train. He was remembering his journey when the
doors opened.
He pushed and rushed in and
finally reached the blessed seat he eyed so wistfully. He discovered a
stained handkerchief. A mark of reservation in an unreserved
compartment. He closed his eyes.
Glossary:
Filtrum: A porous material
through which a liquid or gas is passed in order to separate the fluid
from suspended particulate matter.
No comments:
Post a Comment