Dramatis Personae

Act I .....of darkness

"Blogging is a good idea" that's what she said....the dusky lady at the back of the bus.

The thread-bare streets of Calcutta hung their faces in the frosted silence of the night. The pale yellow circles of sodium vapour street lamps lining the way for the emptiness to walk on...
It was 11:45 pm by my watch and the slumbering universe around me smelled of fatigue.
Another bright day dimmed out and slipped unnoticed into the obvilion.
The bus ambled along the empty streets and came to minor halts at pot-holes , street dogs drunkards and other creatures of darkness. The dusty bright lamps inside cut through the otherwise seamless darkness of its nether interiors.

Five pairs of lungs breathed the warm air part mixed with green house gases responsible for the destruction of the earth....The Driver, the half asleep ticket collecter , the old man with an obscure face , myself and the lady......yes! the dusky lady at the back of the bus......

I turned back from my seat sometimes to look at her face as it lit up and darkened time and again in the light of every passing street lamp....just like an insomniac switches his bed lamp on and off to hasten the passing of the night.
Her hair sparkled everytime the lights passed by....I wondered....what she might be looking at and looked out myself....all i could see was the semi-lit windows that opened to the void.....

Courage piling up until it was too heavy to carry.....i got up from my seat and walked towards her.
When you expect the cold glance , i guess a warm smile only makes you suspicious....yet i wasted no time in smiling back and sat down beside her.....her shampoo fragrance clutching onto each of my veins like an octopus on its prey...
the lock gates were opened ....we talked until the ice broke into water and the water simmered in the warmth.....
We talked and left the tick of the watches behind us......
And then like shattering glass against concrete wall , the collecter shouted out the name of my stop....

I got up and walked to the door....and left her smiling where i found her.......the dusky lady at the back of the Bus.

posted by lightmatic @ 3:51 AM