Ambika

Checked Out

It seemed like a never ending journey. The train chugged away like it was never planning to stop. The scenery outside, so beautiful that it was too much for me to take in. I waited for my stop patiently, like always. But today it seemed to be taking longer than usual. All this travelling had made my body ache. I just wanted to get off the train and sit quietly in some corner. But that wasn't to be. The train stopped and it wasn't at a station this time. I wondered if the train had broken down. Sitting there I wouldn't even know. Then, there came a man, dressed in rags. He came in to our cabin and examined us. He had a stick in his hands. Tapping with it slowly, he checked if we were of good quality. Soon there were many men like him who took over our cabin. They lifted each of us and tossed us off the train. I didn't know what was happening. But I was relived that the never ending journey was finally over. Suddenly I heard people running towards us followed by a loud whistle. They were cops. Seeing them, these people dressed in rags left us right there and scooted. The cops managed to catch one of them and beat him good. They then stacked us back in our cabin. And my journey wasn't over yet. Uff! How I hate travelling. The arduous journey did end. I'm now I'm here. I happened to see the papers placed on the table next to me today. The headlines read, "Dacoits on the prowl, attempt stealing expensive furniture". Did my boring journey just make the headline? It wasn't that boring after all.

(On furniture at Soul Scapes)