THE WINDOW SEAT

My alarm rang; as usual I snoozed it. After a while, I woke up and checked my phone. The time was 8:47 A.M. I cursed my luck for not favoring me on this important day of my career. No sooner I realized the fact that I was going to be late to an important meeting in the office which was scheduled at 10:30 A.M. I got down from my bed and rushed to the bathroom to get ready as quickly as possible. Concerned about my health, I usually walk to bus stand every day. But today, since I was behind the schedule, I took a share auto to the bus stand. 

Within five minutes, I reached the bus stand. The bus stand was crowded. I checked the wall clock in the bus stand to know the time. It displayed “9:23:56 A.M.”, which made me go mad. The honking of the buses added fuel to my tensed mood. Since I was late, I missed my usual bus to the office. So, I had to wait for the next bus. By God’s grace, a bus taking a different route to my office arrived. Without any second thought, I boarded the bus and also managed to get a window seat.I plugged my earphones to the phone and started gazing outside the window. The bus started to move and my journey had began.

When the bus slowly picked up its speed, I saw a few children drinking “Coco Cola”. Ironically, they were standing next to a fresh juice shop which was found empty. After few shops, there was “Briyani Point”. The aroma from “Briyani Point” filled me with flavors and tranquilized my tension.  My eyes caught a glimpse of an apartment which used to be our cricket ground, where we used to play on Sundays from dawn to dusk. On seeing that apartment, my nostalgic memories flashed before my eyes. Suddenly, someone from behind patted my shoulder. Frightened by the touch, I turned back. It was the conductor. He politely asked me to get the ticket. I took my wallet, fetched some cash and got my ticket.

While keeping the ticket inside my front pocket, I noticed a group of school students standing outside their school gate. Like ants, they were organized and held placards which said “No Rain...! No Grain…!” I found that it was an awareness program with regards to afforestation and rain water harvesting.  I was proud of them as they were trying to bring a change to this society at this tender age.

A “Thirukkural” in the school wall sowed thoughts in my mind.

“நன்றாங்கால் நல்லவாக் காண்பவர் அன்றாங்கால்

அல்லற் படுவ தெவன்.”

So, I took my phone, switched on the data and searched for its meaning.

It said “When good things come, everyone views them as gain; when bad things come, why do they complain? So, treat both good and bad things equally.”.

Delighted by the knowledge gained, I remained composed.

My phone beeped. It was an email from my office. Out of fear, I ignored it.

The bus was over a bridge. Beneath the bridge, there flowed a river which reflected the Sun’s rays. With the green trees adorning on either side of the river, the scorching Sun above the river, the seagulls flying in the sky with their flock in “V – Formation” and the fishermen sailing with their catamarans in the river and catching fish for their livelihood. It was a picturesque scene. To add more beauty to this scene, a breeze soothed my soul when my playlist played “Thendral vandhu theendum pothu…” coincidentally.  

My phone rang. It was from my office. It reminded me that I was late to the meeting. Out of fear, I declined the call.

The bell sound from the nearby cathedral reminded me of my old friend “Jesus Christ”. So, I pleaded to him to save me today. The huge hoarding of a movie caught my attention. It had the actor and the actress riding together on a Royal Enfield. All of a sudden, I heard a familiar sound. The sound grew louder when it approached me. It was from a guy riding his "RX 100". Not only the bike overtook the bus, but also it took my heart from me. A song from my playlist reminded me that my earphones were still plugged in. One by one, the playlist started playing my favorite songs and I started to hum to the lyrics. Mesmerized by the songs, I totally forgot to get down in my stop.

Realizing my absent mindedness, I rushed to the driver and asked him to stop the bus. I got down from the bus and started running towards my office.

My phone rang once again. This time it was from my MD. I stopped running. I was still gasping. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. I made my mind to say the truth and apologize. I attended the call.

When I was about to say “Sorry”, he said “Sorry”. I was puzzled.

“Owing to my sickness, I had cancelled today’s meeting and postponed it to next week.”

Also he added, “If you are interested, you may take a “comp-off” for today and work on the matters to be discussed in the meeting.”

He ended the conversation by saying, “Since you declined the email and the call from the office, I called you directly”.

Once the call ended, I burst out into laughter.

“I thanked my luck for saving me today.”