SOMEONE SPECIAL

     

The world is a fantastic collection of people of various types. Some normal, some abnormal. Yet there are some people who can teach us a lot about the world from their behaviour towards it. The feeling of sticking to some beliefs even if it doesn't stand intelligible to many. Yet they teach us a lot.

    Rashi and Rahul were on the verge of a divorce. "You know what Rahul? You are always different from my expectations ever. You showed up being so romantic during our college days as if your life had nothing more than mine. You made so many promises to me before we tied our knots and now you see. I don't really know what the problem is with you but I feel no strong charm to come to you and stick to you. You are failing in your claims.", yelled Rashi to Rahul. Rahul listened quietly and he replied a little. He said, "Do you as you like". This was enough to agitate Rashi and she was again boosted up to keep carrying her melodrama unless Rahul went to sleep. Rashi kept blabbering for some time and eventually, she too went to sleep in the next room. Such a garrulous house it was!

    Rashi and Rahul were in college when they fell in love. Rashi was in the first year and Rahul was in the second year. Gradually the matter kept going on, from day one to the day of the proposal at the end of their third year of Rahul and finally a long-term relationship with long and short distances, several meetups and special days spent together. They married last year but somehow, things didn't turn up as well as they had seemed. Rahul was very busy in his work. Rashi worked as a teacher in the nearby primary school. Sometimes, they had heavy workloads. When one was in a good mood, the other generally wasn't. And there was hardly any proper tuning in their emotional bondage since the last six months of the marriage. The conditions worsened with the days and one day they decided to get divorced. Luckily, they didn't work further on their decisions. Neither did they discuss it with their parents but the tension was only growing with the days. They lived in Chandannager. A town on the banks of the Hooghly river, in the suburbs of Kolkata. Rahul worked in an MNC firm in Kolkata and he used to travel by the local train daily. The train took him to Howrah. From there, he used to take a bus to his office. You can understand how difficult it is to do this on daily basis. On top of that if someone has a wife like Rashi, then the peace of mind is about to end for the person. Always grumbling, complaining and so on. But from Rashi's point of view, she was also not wrong. Rahul was so serious and always busy with his job life that he had almost forgotten his personal life. Rashi too had to deal with a lot of stress in school. Teaching, checking copies, helping the maid with household chores and so much more. She too feels bored after all. When they weren't married, they used to go places. Spend a lot of idle time sitting by the banks of the Hooghly river and enjoying the breeze. At sunset when the orange hue of the tired sun used to disperse its last beams all around, in the beautiful reflection from the clouds and the water, everything turned so lovely. Rahul and Rashi used to sit long on the river banks and enjoy. Rashi used to lean her head against the shoulder of Rahul. He too used to do the same. The mild winds with the sweet sounding bell of the peddlers and hawkers, selling roasted nuts and ice-creams, the sweet fragrance of incense sticks from a nearby temple and everything used to weave a fairyland for them. But now, everything is just the same but they neither have the time nor the motive to enjoy them. Work, stress and unfulfilled expectations have almost ruined it. Although Rahul could feel it but he has nothing to do in that case. Rahul had lost his father when he was in taking his higher secondary board exams and he knows the meaning of hardship. He can visualize the struggle in the world to earn a single penny. "If tomorrow, there is a need for a huge amount of money. If I have children. My mother is also ageing and there are added expenses for her treatment and well-being. I feel these are pretty more important, Rashi." Rashi was in a mood of denial. She said, "Listen, I can understand everything you said, but you know what Rahul? You are growing a miser day by day. See, money is a basic need and even though I am earning it but that doesn't mean we cannot spend it on some basic needs. Entertainment is also a need. We both are working for so long. Okay, leave alone that, you don't even give me the time. Once you enter the house, you are always stuck with your phone. You are always on the call with someone or the other. Then you stay silent, have your dinner and go to sleep. In the morning you get up and hurry. Now tell me what is my standpoint here? I am the one who has a lot to tell you yet I don't get the time." And unforetunately as Rashi was complaining about all these, Rahul's phone rang. Rahul had to receive it as it was a call from his boss. He took up and went to the balcony of the apartment leaving Rashi alone again. Rashi was furious now. As soon as the call ended she burst out and this time Rahul too lost his cool and shouted at Rashi. Now Rashi began to cry and Rahul found a tough time to handle everything. Well this was the daily issue then. Rahul was seeking peace, Rashi was seeking company and their neighbours were seeking silence. The scenario was more or less the same every day with worsening outcomes. When one day Rashi finally claimed that she is going to talk to a lawyer for a divorce. Rahul was fed up and he left the house early for office that day. 

    When Rahul entered the office he remembered that he had forgot to submit the evaluation sheet to the HR department the previous night. He quickly rushed to his cabin where he found a triffle was about to happen. Rahul's boss and the HR were looking frustrated and confused at their places. Rahul thought that something must have gone wrong. As soon as he stepped near his boss welcomed him with a sarcastic tone. "Oh here comes our sir, Mr. Rahul the great. So, do you know sir what have you done yesterday!" Rahul looked confused and he said, "Sir, I forgot to submit...". His boss interrupted him and said, "Yeah, you forgot to send the evaluation list to the HR team which caused my client to wait for an hour." Rahul said in a low voice,"I am sorry sir, I won't repeat it again. I was...." Again his boss interrupted him and started to insult him in front of everyone in the office. Rahul was very much embarrased at this gesture but he needed his job for his money. So, he had to assimiliate the entire thing and quietly sit down to the work. He felt that he was being looked at but Rahul had nothing to do. His fair face has turned red in insult. Situations were against him that day. Problem in house, problem at work, problems everywhere. It seemed as if the life was taking too heavy toll on him that day. 

    In the everning. Rahul was returning home. He boarded the train from Howrah for Bandel. The entire day was a lot tiring and on top of that there was a lot of trouble back home. Rahul was absent minded that day and he didn't hear that the last train in the route was galloping and it galloped Chandannangar. The train reached Bandel Junction at around 11:45 PM in the night. Rahul deboarded and he rushed to a shutting stall to ask when was the next train. The shopkeeper nodded his head and said, "Babu kal subha hi train mil payega. Yeh toh last train tha (Sir, you will only get the train back home for the next day. It was the last train today). Rahul was pale. He looked at the station clock. 11:50PM. He rushed out to the auto-stand. Everyone refused to go till Chandannagar although it was just 2 stations away. Rahul was getting confused. He put his hands in his pocket to search for his phone and was shocked. It was missing. He rushed back to the train in which he came and searched the boggie but he couldn't find it. He searched his bag but he was unfortunate this time too. Rahul sat on a bench in the empty platform and held his head with his hands.  He was literally beating his head. He uttered in painful voice, "Why am I so unlucky? How much more should I deal with? In office, the pressure of boss. In home, the grindings from wife and on top of that my poor luck. My mobile is also stolen." Rahul's forehead was swollen.  He was so tensed and he then lost his cool. He shouted out, "Why all the poor things happen with me all the time?" Luckily there were only a few people in the station who too didn't seem to be bothered much. Only an old man once looked at him and then turned away and laid down. It was a cold winter night. The mid of January. The station clock showed time as 12:30AM. Rahul couldn't think of anything. He slowly got up and he left the station premises and sat near a tea stall outside. It was closed but luckily a bench was kept outside on which he sat. Rahul was in too much stress. He couldn't assimiliate all the events that had happened with him that day. Boss cursed, phone lost, reputation at stake, wife on the verge of divorce. Rahul looked up at the dark sky and he started to think all sorts of rubbish. He was also very tired, hungry but had no option to come out of this pathetic situation. Had it be in the day-light or had he been a little better mentally, Rahul would have made an attempt to go home. But that night, something prevented him to even raise up from the bench on which he sat remorsefully. He felt as if every door in life was closing on his face. 

    Now, the place where Rahul was waiting was just outside the Bandel station. There were a few lights but not a single stalls open there. One by one all had went home and that place was completely deserted. Afterall it was a cold winter night. The cold is much more gripping here on the banks of the Hooghly river. Had anyone been in a proper sense or mental state then the first thing that would have come to his mind would have been the fright of staying alone there. But Rahul was far depressed from life to get fright entered in the chambers of his thoughts. He was waiting for the day break amongst the loneliness as a troubled soul trapped in questions of life. These places along have poor lighting on the roads and there are several risks. On top of that Rahul had lost his phone. So he couldn't even light the torch and see the path. He decided to wait till day break and then find a way. He was deep engrossed in his thoughts when he heard someone approaching. Rahul looked and found a young boy coming towards him. He found it surprising. What is that young lad doing in the late night. At first, Rahul thought he was coming to harm him. So he got in a fight back position. But he noticed that the boy suddenly changed his route and went towards the railway tracks. At the same instant Rahul heard a through train approaching. He once thought to warn the guy but he was too meek and tired to shout out. So he said to himself, "If his luck too is as bad as me, then I think he is doing the correct thing in life if he planning to lie on the tracks." But unlike what he thought the boy returned just as the train passed. Rahul saw and heaved a sigh of relief. Afterall, no one likes to see anyone die. But with that, a bundle of questions clouded his mind. Rahul once decided to stand and call the guy but then in the next moment he refrained from doing that thinking a lot of unhappening possibilities. He sat quietly and began to think. He didn't notice when the guy had come and sat next to him. He only did it and almost jumped back in shock when the guy asked for a cigarette from him. Rahul was surprised and shocked but the very next moment he controlled himself. He tried to look at the face of the young guy. A medium heighted guy was sitting next to him on the bench wearing a hoodie and a pair of trousers. Due to poor lighting in that area, he couldn't see the face of the guy but his curiosity couldn't stop from being overflowed and cast out by his tongue. Rahul finally asked, "Excuse me, what are you doing here in this late night?" The guy didn't answer. Rahul found it strange. He repeated his question again but was now frightened and suspicious of the mysterious behaviour of the guy. Luckily, the guy answered this time. He said, "I have come here to collect some memories." Rahul fumbled at first and said, "I... iss.... is this the.. t... t... time to collect memories?" The guy laughed. He said, "Yes sir. Memories have no time to come and go. It can come anytime, anywhere... like the song of Rabindranath, "Kothao amar hariye jawar nei mana... mone mone... (I have no restrictions to get lost anywhere, though in my mind)." Rahul was shocked. He asked, "Which college do you go to?" The guy replied, "I have no college sir. I studied till the school" Rahul said, "Ohh... but don't you feel awkard to move around like a freak in this dark? Don't you have any place to rest?" The guy sighed. He said, "No sir". Rahul felt pity for him. He understood, how hard it is to face the world. The world has torn life amongst politics, recessions and brainwashes. The future of the youth is seriously at stake. Rahul unknowingly started a conversation with this unknown guy and he too didn't mind to keep along. From this topic to that topic they jumped on and on unless Rahul struck the topic about families. He asked, "Young man, you must have a family right? Your parents, your siblings, relatives?" The guy was silent. He stood up and Rahul too was magnetically doing the same. The guy kept quiet for sometime. Then he asked Rahul. "Leave it sir, tell me about yourself." Generally Rahul never talks about him but the stress and all the unfriendly conditions made him talk. Rahul said a bit about his life and problems. The guy listened eagerly and then took a pause. He then started all of a sudden. "Sir, you are still lucky I must say." Rahul was shocked again. He said, "You call this lucky, young lad? If this is lucky then who is unlucky in this world?" The guy didn't reply him directly but said, "If you don't mind can I tell you a story?" Rahul at first was not in a mood to agree but something made him agree to it. He said, "okay, carry on." The guy started as he gently walked. Rahul too involuntarily started following him.  The guy continued, "It is the story of a boy who was a bit weird. About a few years ago, he used to study in a renowned English medium school. Let's call him Raju for the purpose of understanding. Raju was a bright child in his school. He always used to dream about something out-of-the-box. Most of the times his thoughts weren't aligned with the present scenarios of the class and for this he used to get humiliated and bullied at times. Even his teachers too punished him for giving absurd answers. But it was not his fault. During PTMs the teachers blamed that Raju was always diverted from the topic that's going on in his class and bring up stories. You can't imagine what that crap used to write in his answer sheets. In EVS, he was asked to describe a scenario of flood with an example. All students wrote about the Kerala flood, Indonesian floods, Kedarnath floods but Raju went a step further. He wrote that the Hooghly river was flooded and that brought a shark from the Bay-of-Bengal. It entered the school premises and caused a lot of nuisance. Some boys were taking selfies with the shark. Due to heavy rainfall, the local train got flooded and entered the ground behind school building. And all such rubbish..." Rahul now couldn't stop laughing. He said, "What?... Hahaha... Oh my goodness, this child is beyond the scope...." The guy continued. He said, "This was the reasons everyone considered him mad but no one seriously talked about his problems. He was the only child of his parents. Both of them were working professionals and so they too couldn't focus more on him. On top of that the complaints about his nonsense writings made his parents angry and they often used to scold him. Raju had no friends as all used to think him crazy. So, Raju used to remain upset and depressed most of the time. In the afternoon, sometimes he used to stroll here and watch a few trains pass. On your left you can see a small pond," saying which the guy pointed towards something in the darkness. He said, "Sometimes Raju used to sit there alone and talk to himself. That was his only time pass activity and he somewhat enjoyed it. The fact was that, Raju's parents weren't very good going with each other. They had very little time for the family. On top of that if Raju used to do anything wrong, his father used to blame it on his mother and his mother used to blame it on Raju and thus leading that young soul to go through a lot of mental hardships. He had many misconceptions in life which no one ever bothered to clear. As a result he grew up with them. But he had one great power. The power of imagination. He could imagine whatever he wished to be or whomever he wished to meet. Once in the physics class he claimed to have met Albert Einstein in his dream and that they had a small donut and hotdogs party as he was teaching him the basic concepts of Physics. It was now obvious how much he had been humiliated in school that day. The Principal had also given his parents a written warnnig that he won't be continued in his school futher if he continued to think in such sick way. Raju's father grew furious. As soon as he reached home he severed Raju with his belt. Even his mother didn't stop him. Raju was then rebuked, abused and locked in a room where he was left all day. Only their maid provided him with meal and water twice. Raju cried all day. He was feeling so depressed and sad. But the morons in the world never understood that it wasn't Raju's problem. He needed a counselling, a genuine treatment. But still, with time as he grew up, Raju was a not committing the mistakes that he had used to commit in the previous times and was not more sensible. But when puberty strikes, it brings a lot of changes in the mind. Then a young kid becomes a younster. He learns to visualize many things that he wouldn't have done in his life. It was no different for Raju too. Towards the end of his 7th standard, Raju fell in love. But not with any real girl. But with an imaginary girlfriend whom he used to call Sophia. As per the definition of Raju, Sophia was a cute, fair young girl, of the same age as of Raju. She used to meet with him everyday near the pond. They spent so many happy moments together. In the first week of their love, Raju was a bit more inclined and tried all his known ways to impress Sophia. Raju was great at writing poems and he used to write small poems for Sophia potraying her as a princess and himself as a prince. He used to perform all sorts of weird activites. He used to bring flowers from the shurbs, pretend them to be roses and propose Sophia. Sophia used to smile shyly and accept it. Raju and Sophia used to go for long walks. Gradually Raju passed his boards and he was promoted to the high school. But unlike others, he seemed to be completely ignorant of the rat race of JEE and all sorts of bullshit exams and all. He used to enjoy his imaginary life. Raju and Sophia used to go on long walks along the banks of the Hooghly river. They would sit alone in a corner. Raju would gently play with the golden brown hairs of Sophia. Sophia too used to gently hug Raju. Raju at times used to speak out his heart to Sophia and he imagined that she was telling about herself to him. Sophia had gradually turned into his best ever friend, and not just a time-pass girlfriend. They had long sagas of enjoyment. Sophia used to sing and Raju used to write poems. And wrapped in their love the sun used to set on the banks of the river." Each line of the love story of Raju and Sophia hit Rahul with a lot of nostalgia. The banks of the Hooghly river, the cuddling of him and Rashi, the sweet fragnance of incense sticks, the sound of temple bells, playing children few of whom used to fly kite on the river banks. The peddlers and the hawkers selling commodities. The blissful silence and the rythm of love suddenly pushed into the heart of Rahul. He became emotional. The guy who was narrating the story stopped for a moment and said, "Are you thinking anything, sir?" Rahul who had travelled to some other dimension in his mind restored back and nodded his head. He urge the guy to continue. So he did. "Sophia and Raju seemed to be the happiest couple. The someone special in his life meant a lot. People who knew about it or watched them regularly used to say that he has probably lost his mind and so he is thinking about all sorts of weird things. Well this sweet love story couldn't continue long. The degrading marks of Raju and no effect of his parent's rebukes made them concerned and they finally decided to consult a psychiatrist. Alas! it was too late then. The results were unexpectedly shocking. Raju had severe level of schizophrenia. Past traumas, loneliness, rejections from soceity, friends and abuses turned him in the wrong direction. The psychiatrist prescribed for some medicinies which even harmed him further. Notwithstanding the entire load, he started to smoke. Raju had degraded so much that he used steal money for cigarettes. His lungs destroyed and his nerves turned fragile by the severe dosage of nicotine. Each day of Raju seemed to him as if he had licked  a whole stip of LSD and has started to solved calculus. His nerves, his senses everything revolted. Worse was when he came to know that Sophia was just his imagination. It became intolerable for him. He had to be put on heavy tranquilizers to keep him in control. But on the night of 15th January, life lost to death. Raju saw Sophia in his dream. He got up from bed and unnoticed by all followed the path to the station and then to the railway line. A through train was approaching from the opposite side which Raju didn't notice. He was rushing to catch Sophia who seemed to be laughing and calling him. In the dark night the and the only light source of the train's headlamp, when the driver noticed Raju it was too late." And suddenly a train passed from the vicinity that brought Rahul back to sense as he was too engrossed in the story. He looked and found the station was different from where he deboarded. Infact it was his home. Chandannagar. "Unbelieveable! talking with this guy I have reached my home", thought Rahul. He looked at the station clock and it was only 1:30 PM in the night. He was feeling a little bettter then. He turned to thank the guy for accompanying him till this part but he could find no one. "Perhaps, I must be too engrossed to have noticed him leaving. Anyways... let me rush home quick. Rashi must be very tensed. When he rushed home and was about a few steps to enter, he could see Rashi crying like anything. There were a few police constables there too and when Rahul entered the scenario changed. Rashi saw Rahul and wasn't able to believe it for a moment but once she did, she rushed to him before anyone could react and she hugged Rahul tighly and cried out louder. The OC came and said, "Rahul Babu, we were searching for you all around. Your wife has registered a missing report and she was uncontrollable. Rahul saw many of his neighbours have also gathered. He understood the scene but what was more strange was to see that Rashi still feels for him. He asked everyone to be comfortable and he explained everything in details. When everyone was convinced and left, Rashi and Rahul had their dinner. They talked with the most open heart that day. Rashi said, "I haven't talked with you so openly for days." Rahul too agreed on the same. The next day, everything continued as usual. But now the love between them grew a lot. Rahul felt the importance of Rashi and Rahsi understood the struggle of Rahul. Luckily, Rahul got back his phone. He had left it in his office. He thought it was stolen but it was not. But yet he was yet to be surprised to the most. While returning home, he received a call from the OC to visit him to close his missing case. He did. In talks, the OC, Mr. Mahapatro asked Rahul about the guy who he was talking about the night before. He said everything. Meanwhile a constable was checking the records and at a place he stopped. When Mr. Mahapatro asked, he silently handed over the book and started behaving weirdly. When Mahapatro got the file his eyes protruded and his lips began to shiver. He however calmed himself and looked straight into the eyes of Rahul. He was having goosebumps. Rahul asked, "What happened, Sir? Is everything alright?" Mr. Mahapatro replied, "The guy of whom you have mentioned Rahul Babu, had left the earth a year ago." Rahul almost cried, "WHATTT!!!!????" Maharpatro showed him the records. It was clearly mentioned as a case registed under Chandannagar Police Commissionerate. It read as, "Mr Rajendra Ghoshal. Age 17. Date of Accident: 15th January, Cause of death: Railway accident near Bandel station". A cold wave ran down the spine of Rahul. He could hardly  stand after what he had heard. "I was accompanied by a ghost? What are you telling, sir??" Mahapatro nodded in agreement. 

    In the search of temporary peace and to achieve big in life, we often ignore the sweet blessing of love that is bestowed on us. So, if you have found your love, understand them, care for them and spend time with your someone special...

- Lucifer Khusrao