(None of these characters are real :) the usual disclaimer!)

1: Station-ed...

She stood at the edge of the platform. She knew, this made no difference, and that the train would not arrive any sooner because of that, but she could not resist trying to peep like the other restless onlookers and relatives waiting for the train on that crowded platform. The difference between them and her was she was only physically present. Her mind was at work. And not just because she had so much of it, or that she even liked her some-days-good-some-days-not-so-good job. She was thinking of him. She was thinking of him most of the time but she also spent a good portion of that time wondering why it was she thought of him. She was thinking why it was that a person who had always been in control of her life and expectations of it, had suddenly decided to become so attracted to a man that hardly matched her. Yes it might be that opposites attracted, but within boundaries and it usually became a mutual feeling. It took two opposites to attract, right.

Her thoughts were disturbed by a child who started wailing there on the platform, probably because he needed more entertainment than the boring, hot and now exceedingly cramped platform could provide. She felt that where ever she went she could not escape some wailing infant! There was always some small, cranky child just waiting for the tiniest provocation to start. And she was always there to catch the show, the sound and waterworks. Sometimes she thought she herself was the provocation. But this time it could not have been her. If anything her presence should have greatly improved the mood of the child. She had on her bright yellow and orange sundress, and pink flip flops. And in a railway station, that was quite a spectacle. The child could very well have confused her for a clown, under such circumstances. Unless these colours were so garish that it actually scared the child… There she went again over analyzing everything.

But Kirtana was feeling adventurous today. She wanted to look fun and fresh... and that is what she kept telling herself when she bought this dress. Even if it meant she faced a bit of ridicule for being so over dressed for the station. After all how did anyone else have the authority to judge her, unless she gave them that importance! Those self help books she had read last year kept pumping these small affirmations into her mind every now and then.

Her thoughts moved back to why she was there. She was waiting to receive her new roommate. In an adventurous sundress.

The story of how she met her soon to be roommate was interesting to say the least. The guest room of her almost upscale and well kept apartment was lying unused, and Kirtana could not tolerate that. Anything unused had to be dealt with or thrown out. These were her life’s rules. So she put an ad in the paper, told some friends and even decided to spread the word on a now hugely popular social networking website. And so there she met Maliha. At first Kirtana was sure it was a hoax. Some cyberspace predator in disguise trying to scheme her for her address so he, and she was sure it was only a he who was capable of such perversion, could come and attack her at her own house. I guess this kind of thinking was the outcome of her upbringing and her addiction to morbid news stories! But as it turned out Maliha was a lovely person and a she! A freelance photographer and artist, who had inherited a ton of money, enough to support her free flowing lifestyle. Of course being as wealthy as she was, why she would want to rent a room when she could buy the entire building complex, was quite puzzling. But Maliha was just that, puzzling. She claimed that she lived in a new house or city every four months. It was her hobby, her interest. She was wandering, but not exactly nomadic. She lived with new people, became a part of their lives, and always stayed in touch, by sending them photographs she took on her next stay, or sending them artwork she had made in a new city. She never missed a birthday or anniversary and had formed lasting attachments with almost everyone she had stayed with! Now even though Kirtana was looking for a more permanent roommate, the idea of meeting a person like Maliha intrigued her. She was so unlike herself, she felt she just had to see how this woman lived . And since the whole concept of having someone else live with her was frightening, this would be for a small period of time, and would prove sufficient to know how she responded to someone living in her house!

And so priding herself with such a sudden sense of adventure over this impulsive decision about her roommate, there she was waiting for Maliha to arrive from some far off village, where she had spent the last four months eating organically and living with a retired professor who studied the life and habits of spiders that were nearing extinction. She was hoping she had not carried any eight legged souvenirs from that little stay!

The train was slowing to a halt, and Kirtana realized this because the crowd suddenly became very active, talking loudly, the excitement was palpable. This brought her out of her thoughts almost instantly and she caught herself fixing her hair and straightening herself up. She was going to hang back and let the more eager onlookers have the first go at the arrived train. After all Maliha would be easy to spot! A single lady, with all her life’s belongings packed in two suitcases and a large purple jhola. How hard would it be? Besides Kirtana had already seen photographs of her roommate online! They had ‘seen’ each other already. Maliha had commented during a discussion with Kirtana over the phone a week ago, about how she came across as a little reserved in her appearance, and today Kirtana was trying to prove a point. Her dress was a bold step in that direction.

About ten minutes after the train arrived at the platform, Maliha stepped out of the train. She had a way with people, this Maliha. She had managed to befriend nearly everyone seated around her on the train and now had three different people helping her with her luggage, while they struggled with their own bags! Maliha had a glow on her face, despite having travelled two days straight, she looked fresh and well rested. She walked with her head up and which made her look much taller than she really was. Her physique was near perfect, and she looked like she could have been an athlete. She had a big purple jhola slung across her shoulders, and the slight breeze blew her short black hair into her eyes. She was walking right towards Kirtana with a huge smile on her face!

“Hey I’m Mali..! It is so great to finally meet you”, Maliha said. She gave Kirtana a nice warm hug. Kirtana, a little surprised at how unselfconscious Maliha was, responded with a quick smile... “Hi Mali! Welcome!” The two of them quickly surveyed one another, girls were quick to size each other up... Mali rushed to get her bags from her 'friends', and soon the two were walking off the platform and out of the station. “My friends call me Kit by the way. The car’s parked not far from here; let me get one of your bags for you.” Now one of those things was a lie... None of her friends called her Kit! She had made that up because she wanted to sound like Mali! The car being parked not far from the station however was true. Why did Kirtana feel like she had to try so hard…? She was thinking just that... These next few months were definitely going to be something! ...