Holiday

Just before stepping within approximately a kilometer of the train station, I could suddenly smell the whole trip.It was a scent that bordered on familiar at the very edge of my consciousness, awakened at that last moment spurring up my heartbeat- this strange unapologetic mix of fast food, diesel fumes, stale sweat, unclean bathrooms and its counter-attacking feeble lavender air freshener. With that sudden new realization courtesy my olfactory senses, the dripping rivulets of sweat cooled off as the mind finally accepted the entirety of the excitement of a holiday that lay ahead of me the next few days.

The body is a wonderful machine. Until then, my mind, exposed to several months of homework and examinations had not yet let go of the daily routine, sure that I would return to bed that night and awaken at seven in the morning next day to put on my iron uniform and lead shoes to start another school day with heavy-lidded eyes, all the while wondering how the teacher was so wide awake and brisk in his manners this early - "Maybe that's what grown ups just do-something changes in you while growing up and you are just wide awake in the morning", that's what I told myself as everyone took turns at announcing their presence in the classroom.

At that moment, however, the acceptance opened up a new world. The struggle through the crowds and the traffic towards the station seemed to be a minuscule point in a universe that consisted of oceans, waves, seashells(that would be collected in a quantity so high it could be a Guinness record for a child), mountains, lush green fields, sand bars, sunshine, wind, siestas, villages, towns, factories, railroad crossings, bicycles, dark skinned people, fair-skinned people, old people, middle aged people, crying children, spider children, silent children, social children,awkward teenagers, honeymoon couples, shops, colors, clothes, toys, walks, laughs, swimming trunks, sweaters, hoodies, shawls, towels, car seats, shampoo sachets, board games, card decks with frayed aces and bent Queens, peanuts, boiled eggs, rock salt, 'bhelpuri', 'jhalmuri', 'frooti', tea, coffee, endless sugar-cones filled with softy ice cream, food trays, water packets, newspapers, spilled gravy, simmering hot food, blankets, air-pillows, mineral water bottles, barred windows, open windows, languages, torn comics, old books, new books, doodles, crayons and entire households packed into three suitcases fastened securely to the underbellies of the blue seats with a snakelike chain held in place by a lock whose (Alice In Wonderland like) tiny key was the most safeguarded item; all of it being rocked together in a drowsy steady staccato.

I was about to step into an entire plethora of references from which school essays would arise and stories during language exams at school would be spun. I smiled and climbed up to build my own cozy corner on the topmost bunk as the engine hissed and the people faded away.