chapter 6 Beyond a Voice
753 Words
Beyond a Voice
He returned a little while later.
By then, she had gone to freshen up.
A few minutes passed before she came back.
She walked towards her seat, gently gathering her hair into place.
He looked at her.
She looked at him.
For a moment.
Then, at exactly the same time, a small smile appeared on both their faces.
That was all.
She took her seat.
He picked up his phone.
There was already an incoming call.
He answered.
“Hello... sweet morning, darling.”
There was an unusual warmth in his voice.
She turned towards him without meaning to.
He held the phone to his ear and quietly rose from his seat.
Even as he walked towards the next compartment, the smile remained on his face.
“हाँ हाँ... अरे बेटा, क्या हुआ?”
A woman's voice came from the other end.
He smiled softly.
“कुछ नहीं, माँ...”
“I think you're unusually happy today.”
He said nothing.
He simply smiled again.
“क्या हुआ?”
“Oh... वो मैं वहाँ पहुँचकर बताऊँगा.”
“वहाँ पहुँचकर?”
“हाँ.”
“ऐसा क्या है?”
He looked out through the window.
“आपके लिए एक surprise है, Mrs. Rao.”
There was a brief silence on the other end.
Then his mother's voice returned, carrying the hint of a smile.
“अच्छा...”
“हम्म.”
“ठीक है... ठीक है.”
He laughed softly.
But the next moment, her voice changed.
It became more serious.
“बेटा... तुम ठीक हो ना?”
The smile slowly faded from his face.
“हाँ, माँ.”
“पक्का?”
“हाँ.”
“तुम जानते हो ना... जो कर रहे हो, वो बहुत risky है.”
He looked out at the passing landscape.
The train continued at the same steady speed.
“जानता हूँ, माँ.”
“फिर भी... अपना ख्याल रखना.”
He remained silent for a moment.
“रखूँगा.”
“और safe रहना.”
A faint smile returned.
“Promise.”
Just then, another voice came through the phone.
“अरे...”
He suddenly went quiet.
His father's voice was unmistakable.
“क्या कर रही हो?”
Before his mother could answer, he heard the familiar warmth of his parents teasing each other.
His father gently kissed his mother's forehead.
She immediately laughed, slightly embarrassed.
“अरे... आप भी ना...”
Listening to it all from the other end, a mischievous smile appeared on his face.
“ओहो...”
His mother quickly lowered her voice.
“क्या?”
He laughed.
“कुछ नहीं, माँ.”
His father's voice came again.
“किसका फोन है?”
He immediately replied—
“ओके, ओके...”
His mother tried to say something.
“बेटा—”
“Bye, माँ!”
He laughed and ended the call.
For a few seconds, he remained standing there with the same smile on his face.
Then he shook his head slightly.
“Parents...”
he murmured to himself.
And then he walked back towards his compartment.
There...
she had taken bread and jam from her bag.
She placed a slice of bread before her and slowly spread jam across it.
She noticed him returning.
But she didn't ask anything.
He took his seat.
For a moment, he looked at her.
She looked back.
Again, that small smile.
She picked up a piece of bread.
He turned towards the window.
The train continued forward.
Outside, unfamiliar towns and new roads drifted slowly into the distance.
As she ate, a few words from his phone conversation returned to her.
“जो कर रहे हो, वो बहुत risky है...”
She looked at him.
He continued staring outside, as though nothing had happened.
She turned her attention back to her bread.
Some conversations...
are never meant for us to hear.
But once they reach our ears—
their meaning does not leave so easily.
She didn't know what he was doing.
She didn't know why this journey was so risky.
All she knew was this—
behind his voice,
behind that effortless smile,
there was a world she knew nothing about.
And he didn't know either—
that somewhere inside the dreams of the girl sitting across from him,
the face of an unfamiliar woman kept returning.
The train moved on.
Two strangers...
travelling beneath the same sky.
One carrying a secret.
The other carrying a dream whose meaning she could not understand.
Their story...
had already begun long before either of them knew it.
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