Adrenaline rush ... One of my biggest problems ! I am late again , but this time not for my lecture . I wouldn't have an adrenalin rush to attend a class , I need to catch a bus to Van nuys . I had five more minutes when I reached the final crossing . The signal advised me to relax and I stood there watching the bus stop blankly
( no reaction zone). Ufff .. reached the bus stop and took a quick look at my fellow passengers and some one caught my attention , an old woman with a trolley. Nice blue shirt and trousers, neat hair cut , perfect summer costume. She had a trolley with a lot of stuff all perfectly packed. Alright she was another
co-passenger .. but she was too old to travel alone.. anyways people are stronger and determined than we presume. I was the first to hop onto the bus and she was the last. We reached Van Nuys in 30 mins , I was extremely busy on a call with a friend discussing about the latest movie " Soodhu Kavvum " encouraging her to watch it asap.
Before getting off the bus I turned to look at the old woman, she was reaching out to her handbag. I got down and took a seat in the train station. Hmm I had to wait another one and a half hours to board a North-bound train to Goleta and the disastrous part was... NO WIFI :( .. Internet captures all our attention ,we always see the world through the WINDOWS. Now I had some time to look through the doors of the train station. The old woman entered pushing her trolley , a guard in the station assisted her. She sat in a different row, I could see her face clearly now, she seemed to be atleast 80 years old. Few thoughts ran in my mind .. why is she travelling alone.. why is she carrying so much stuff ... why did she board from Westwood where only students live ... She briskly wrote down something on her notepad. I have a grandmother who is as old as her and nobody in my family would ever allow her to go on her own with a huge trolley. The time was 3:25 pm and the train would arrive at 3:31 pm. I went straight to her and our conversation lasted for 6 minutes.
I : The train would be here in 5 minutes I can help you push your trolley to the platform.
She : Yes . Thank you :) .
I started pushing her trolley ...
SHe : Which country are you from ?
I: India .. Where are you from ?
She : My mom is from Phillipines and dad from China. But I grew up in USA . Do you study at UCLA?
I : yes I am a Masters student here .
She : wow ! you look too young to be a Masters Student. And thank you for helping me out.
I: Thats fine :)
She : Tell me some good Indian restaurants in Westwood.
I wrote down " ANNAPOORNA , CHANDNI "
She : When did you come from India ? Do you miss your parents ?
I : I came last Sept . I do miss my parents but I have started realizing how much my parents have done for me all these 22 years ..being
independent is quite something .
independent is quite something .
She : I bet you miss your mom the most !
I : Of course :) I do and also my grandmother. She is 75,as old as you !
She : I am not 75 :) I am only 60 but I look much older because I am unwell for the past 10 years . I had breast cancer in 2001, underwent chemotherapy , had my breasts removed . I had brain tumor and got it removed in 2006 . Now I am facing a lot of side effects :) .
I : DO you live in Westwood ?
She : I live in a small studio at Santa Paulo near Oxnard. I come to Westwood for my medical check ups and treatments.
I : You could have stayed here at Westwood.
She : Santa Paulo is such a serene and beautiful place to live :) I have a life beyond hospitals and my treatment ... I will travel till I can :)
Train arrived ......
She : I wish I could meet you again .
I was in my own thoughts ............
I : yup ! Have a great day ! bye !
The 6 minute talk was haunting me throughout my 3 hour journey.... I wanted to go down and meet her again.. I wanted to ask her if she had anyone to take care of her... I wanted to help her get down the train..
Two days after the meet I still think about her ... She was happy .. she was confident .. yet she was alone.. I wish I could meet her again and help her again..
We meet random people in strange circumstances and they show us a different perspective of what we call life :)
