THE PLATFORM

That’s me; I’m the kind of person who travels with three pairs of scissors. But I don’t do that because I’m previewing the need of them, or to have a supply of scissors in case I lose the first pair. I’m travelling with three pairs of scissors because when I was packing I forgot that I’ve already had one pair, so I took another. And I forgot again, so I took another, again. That’s me, brushing my teeth with a weird masala flavor toothpaste, a little bit disgusting flavor for a toothpaste, but is the only one I found in the only shop I saw at the train station, when I found out that I forgot my traditional mint toothpaste in the last guest house.

  Those who are staring at me, those are Indian folks. From deep rural India side, I can tell for the way they act. They speak each other in Hindi and, after arrive to a consensus, one of them who looks like he is the leader, the funny chubby one, asks me any stupid question. Looks like he is the only one who is able to speak a little bit of English, so the others ask him what to ask me. Even when they don’t know what else they can ask me, they keep staring at me, smiling. About twenty eyes stoke on me, not because the fact that I’m brushing my teeth at the platform, sitting on my lug and splitting at the floor. That’s a normal behavior for Indian standard. They keep staring at me for the fact that I’m the only white foreigner waiting at the platform.

---          So, you guy, look like you are a big show for them.

  I raise my head, surprised to hear a good English speaker, and it’s when I see her for first time. A beautiful Asian woman with American accent, with that kind of interesting looking of someone who is self-confident, and sure about what she is doing. The fact that she looks a bit older than me, and she is travelling around India by her own, makes me feel that she probably have many interesting stories to tell, and awakes me a wish to know more about her.

---          Looks like, I wonder why – I answer.

---          Don’t worry; they do that all the time.

---          So, have you been here for long time?

---          Yes, I work here; I’ve been in India for last six months.

---          In Varanasi?

---          No, I’m here because I’m taking a break, but I’m coming back to work now. What about you?

---          Travelling around the country, I started a couple of days ago. And I’ll be here for three months.

---          Cool.

  Then, suddenly, the amount of Indian who were listening our conversation very interested, stop paying attention to us and start a rushing walk to different directions. That’s the sign that our train has arrived, delayed, as expected.

---          My car is over there, see you around, have a nice trip – She says to me while she walks to the opposite direction where my car is. Going to an upper class of the train.

---          Likewise - I tell her.

  And she disappears into the crowd. I go to my economic lowest class car of the train, wishing that her words become true, and I see her around later.

  That’s the beginning of a longer story that, maybe, I will tell someday.