Prologue

"May I have your attention please. Train No. 2130 Howrah Pune Azad Hind Express is arriving on platform no. 23...."

Mr. Shashinarayan Singh woke up with a start, just in time to hear the announcement repeated in hindi. "Finally" he thought. Having reached on an hour before the scheduled departure of the train, he had been waiting for over six hours on the platform for the delayed train. That with Mrs. Singh and their one year old son Krishna constantly pestering him about the train timing and other stuff on the platform had left him worn out.

Usually he would have made this trip alone. But this time, Mrs. Singh had insisted on seeing her parents. He had to relent. Based at Jamshedpur, Mr.Singh worked with a local telecom company. And this was an "official" trip. But even the thought of having talking his wife out of her plans seemed daunting. Plus he didn't hate his in-laws. He only "disliked" them.

"Poonam! Wake up! The train is here" he shook his wife.

"Huh? What the-" she opened her eyes looking dreamy. The scream of the engine crossing them startled her out of her sleep. Quickly picking up sleeping Krishna in her arms, she picked up the baby's sizable traveling kit in her free hand.

"Should we get a porter?"

"No. I can manage." grunted Mr. Singh as he heaved on their two airbags over his shoulders, picked up the Aristocrat suitcase in his left hand and the trolley bag in his other. "They charge too much."

As the train screeched to a halt, waves of the massive crowd pushed them towards the train. Mr.Singh managed to get to the coach door and tried climbing in. The luggage was too bulky to fit in. He kept one bag on the platform and climbed in. "Poonam" he called out over the rush, "bag!"

Mrs. Singh put the now awake child down on the platform beside herself, where he stood sucking his thumb, and started lifting the bag into the carriage. Once done she grabbed the kid by the sleeve of his poncho and climbed in herself. The crowd swallowed them.

They had seats near the door itself, they pulled, pushed, heaved struggled and in the 20 mins for which the train stood there, they finally manged to get their luggage organized. The train now started moving. Suddenly Mr. Singh's eyes fell on his wife. "Where's Krishna?" he asked.

"He's right he-" she stopped short, as she looked in horror upon the empty Poncho held in her hand.

"Pull the damn chain someone!!!" screamed Singh.

Luckily someone did, unluckily the chain came off clean with its contraptions into the puller's hands. The train did not stop.

"NOOOO!" they screamed....

****

The little kid looked around. He wasn't scared anymore. The crowd had died down since the train left. He calmly walked back to the bench his family had been sitting on. He climbed onto it and made himself comfortable. And then he nodded off. Mum and Dad, they'll be somewhere around. He was too sleepy. He dreamed of stars that night. Little did he understand, that they would be his only friends for the many days to come.....

Next chapter later...