Page 103 - Musings 2022

The Visitor

Ashutosh Sharma
2019A7PS0040P

The station arose from its slumber as the 8am train rolled in with huffs and puffs. The stray
dogs, who had been lying on the wooden planks of the track, were already walking away to

safety. On the platform, the tea vendor, who had been waiting on the bench, got up and

stretched, ready to begin his day. The station master, who had been dozing off, was startled
awake by the noise. Looking out the solitary window in his dimly lit office, the station master

expected to see the station as it always was at this hour — desolate and cold. However, as the
station master looked, a man appeared from the cabin closest to his office. The station master

sat upright, to get a better look at this new visitor. But the man was already gone, taking hurried

steps toward the exit.

-

He was walking fast, in anticipation of what was to come. It had been quite some time since he
had been here. It’s quite a mystery how places change. He remembered the time when this town

seemed like the whole world to him, but now it seemed foreign. It was like the air had changed,
from being homely and warm, to being distant and cold. He was panting with every breath. But

this didn’t slow him down, not one bit. He continued walking briskly. He had prepared for this
for quite some time, and he wasn’t going to stop until he was done. Until he met her.

Often, when we really seek something, we go out of our way in every way to achieve it, even

forgetting the very thing we seek. All that matters to us is that we get it, in some way. It is only
when we are actually close to achieving it, that we realise the magnitude of our endeavour, and

that is when a man’s conviction is tested. After walking for about 20 minutes, he was on the

other side of the town — it really was a small town. He stopped outside the gate and stared at
the door beyond it. It was here, in that very house, that he would find her. He could finally see

her, after all these years and all the waiting. But he just stood there, staring at the door. It felt
like his body was frozen. He knew that he would get to meet her, if he simply went ahead and

knocked on that door, yet he couldn’t get his body to move.
After standing there for quite a while, trying to gather up courage, and failing, he turned and

started walking again. He felt anguish and disgust at himself. He truly wanted to see her, but

the thought of facing her, brought a tingle down his spine. It was an unusual feeling, it was

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