An empty compartment of a metro train was the best gift from God. Tulsi, 30 years old now, just couldn’t stop. They flowed without any inhibitions. Reinless and free finally. No, it was not a break-up. Neither was she fired. Tears sometimes have no reason. Anything can trigger them. She belonged to a joint family where privacy was a luxury. A one-room apartment had her in-laws, a kid as well as her hubby. A place she loved and loathed with equal intensity. The lavatory was shared. She always had to go last as she was the daughter-in-law. But everyone loved her. She was the center of their universe. Shavez, a motor mechanic, found her on his way to deliver the repaired car to its owner who lived in the elite locality of South Delhi. He found her buying vegetables from the locality vendor. A saree best drapes a woman and Tusli was in a maroon sari with a long plait dressing her back. The neckline was deep and he could see beads of sweat staining the thin bridge of her designer blouse. Tulsi was unaware of the onlooker and shopped to fulfillment. When done she paid and turned to find Shavez staring at her with a healthy yearning. Their eyes met and everything was still. This was enough to get married after frequent meetups that lasted a month.

Three years is a long time to reflect and realize how far one has gone or will go. Shavez just didn’t communicate after Rizwan came into their life in the 8th month of their marriage. He was born weak and needed the most attention thus coming in their way of intimacy which had to be planned in the watchful eyes of his parents. Those plans went haywire as Rizwan was a light sleeper. Midway interruptions turned the man of the house off and finally distant. He did his duties as a father, husband, and son but the lover in him had died naturally with no one to blame but fate. To give a better life to Rizwan his mother upgraded herself from a maid to a tailor and joined a sewing factory to help Shavez, the same age as herself, meet the rising ends. They hardly spoke thus adding to the emotional wedge. Their workstations were in the opposite directions hence the timings never clashed and romance suffered.

Tulsi missed the man she once knew. Strangers on the road and public transport often saw her as a woman full of verve and life. She was standing on her own feet, married, a mother, and a sincere wife who had the same routine every day. Boarding the metro from Saket and getting down at Rajeev Chowk so as to walk to Paharganj where her abode welcomed her with open arms. This was the scene with many such women who lived in such circumstances and embraced it with no fretting or tantrums. They swung and kept swinging daily without any trumpets. Sometimes this lifestyle of years makes its way out through uncontrollable tears. Was it fatigue or facing it all alone with no outlet none could guess but she had a downpour in that eerie lonely women’s compartment.

Brenda, along with a few other women entered the halted train from Green Park and chose to sit opposite Tulsi. Like a typical music lover, she took out her earphones after finishing the ongoing call and got lost in her music eyes closed totally oblivious of Tulsi who was uncontrollable. High-profile employees hardly have the energy to look around once out of the office. Brenda Taylor loved her job as a journalist and she preferred maximum exposure to real life. Public transport was one such obsession. It was getting late for her next appointment for a story and she was tired. She was making mental notes in her mind about the interview she was slated to take. She was shaken up from her homework abruptly and the earphones slipped as the train stopped with a jerk. Once again due to technical reasons, a temporary halt was announced. That’s when Brenda accidentally saw Tulsi.

Tulsi was in her own world of questions maybe as the tears had not stopped. She had not even noticed that the train had stopped nor Brenda’s eyes on her. The sobs became heavy and loud. She was heaving and thirsty. Her head was pounding but that outlet was necessary to face the remaining hours of the day. During lunchtime, she had got a call from home that the entire house was leaving for a ritual to the nearby village as their great grand uncle had expired. A will had to be heard so the kid was to be taken along too. Tulsi had got over the call and then she rushed to her boss to convey that she would be off for the day as she has to be in the house for her presence as the house was to be empty for a couple of days. The keys had to be taken from her people in person asap. A whole room to herself after three years. The thought alone hit her and she poured all of it out. Will she miss them or cherish it? Only a couple of days all by herself awaited her reaction. It was enough to trigger a tsunami in her heart and eyes.

Minutes kept passing and Brenda continued looking at Tulsi waiting for an eye lock. She was completely involved in her outburst. They kept trickling down as if a mountain witnessed a landslide. Pile-on of years just gushed. Brenda did not get up and approach her. She wanted the ebb to prolong till it reached its zenith to a more calmer and evolved self. Tulsi needed it badly it seemed and Brenda ascertained this by Tulsi’s body language. Brenda had forgotten about the mental notes and focussed solely on Tulsi. It felt like eternity to Brenda as time was not moving at all. It felt as if it was giving company to the halted train. When finally Brenda was all set to get up so as to sit beside her, Tulsi gathered herself by wiping her tears and their eyes met briefly as Tulsi realizing someone was watching her all along added to the helpless silent burst. It spilled to a new high and Brenda did not look away but kept looking with a very understanding look overall. Tulsi was shaking now as she got the release she never got from her own people. It went on for a couple of minutes and Brenda kept sitting with the same silent comfort of eyes as if conveying its alright. Go ahead till you have decanted it all.

No conversation, no over-the-top care, no words to kill the silence but a look comforted Tulsi like no one. They were total strangers but a connection was made. Her sobs sobered. The tears were slowly drying up. The metro train made an announcement that it is to move in another three minutes. They both kept sitting as Tulsi grabbed the water from her bag and finished it. Her heartbeat returned to its original rhythm. Brenda plugged the earphones in her ears and resumed her mental notes. Nobody had to know what had just happened. Class did not dictate terms as it was all so effortless. Humanity had won yet again. Brenda was to get down at the next station but she opted to stay till Tulsi got down.

Within minutes the metro train restarted and moved. The two ladies kept their distance but bridged the divide stoically. Off and on looking at each other reassuringly and gratefully. Brenda was thankful that she was of some help internally. Tulsi was a new bird with new zeal to take on the world. She felt fresh. Finally, her stop arrived Tulsi gave one last look and left, never knowing when she would bump into her again. It was ok to skip stations to see a crying person resurrect from her demons and smile again. It was perfectly alright to give peace a chance.