He plugged his ears with the earphones he had brought for the trip and tapped the 'play' button in his jukebox and gently closed his eyes as the music began to play. Unlike several other trips he had made, this trip was not planned. The power shut down for an entire day provoked him to take up this trip that day. There was so much relief after leaving home and thinking about the trip which would take him through the east coast. This jukebox, he knew would come handy when there was so much time to cruise along the coastline but the reason he took it along was entirely different.
His closed eyes never opened, no matter what happened in the outside world. With the tracks playing, he took few deep breaths to relax as he continued to enjoy the music in a reclined posture in the bus. The bus had made its way out of the city traffic and now the fresh salty breeze brought him back from the inside world. He opened his eyes to look at the shoreline and the waves as the bus began to cruise without any braking, honking and swerving. His eyes remained there, seeming to have become fixed at the sight after a long time. His ears were busy with the playlist. The songs were flicking the cards in his mind with each song bringing memories from different phases of his life so far. Each and every song depicting the various events, memorable days, the dreams of yesterday, the reality of today, the uncertainty of the inevitable tomorrow and everything that was associated to the song by his mind when he had listened to it earlier.
The playlist, filled with songs from one particular phase of his life left him focus more on that phase where he was living the days sharing the burden on her shoulders. The way she supported, reacted, relieved him of all the pain and so on. Though his eyes were blank, his face was lit up by a smile. The next song reminded him of the travel he made with her during those days. Another song, it made him think of the way they depended on each other. Another, it made him close his eyes as a sense of grief was seen engulfing him from within. It brought her memories so strong to him that he couldn't resist covering his face to avoid embarrassment in public.
Songs played by, memories flashed by; the playlist was almost about to end. He spent the entire day thinking about her and realising how much he missed her. It was twilight. His most favourite time of the day to enjoy travel. The bus was heading back to the city. The route for the return journey was not through the coastline, but through the IT expessway. His eyes were making rounds looking at the software giants' premises all along the stretch. He wondered if he would ever get to see her at least accidentally. The song that played earlier during the day was playing in the background when the bus slowed down with the increasing peak-hour traffic. He knew she was working somewhere in one of those buildings and it was time she would start home.
The lights from the tall buildings were his favourite. As the bus came to a halt near a traffic signal, the song suddenly appeared to have become a little louder. He turned side to side to see if she was riding along or crossing the road. He would dismiss such thoughts often but this evening, he kept looking partly lost in the song and partly lost in his thoughts. He got up from his seat and scrambled to get out of the bus in a hurry. Once he got down, he hurriedly crossed the road and stood with his eyes almost popping out. He saw her come out of an IT park with few of her friends. He stood at a safe distance and was gaping at them as they were getting ready to leave.
He took few more steps to get closer. He cleared his throat before saying, "Hi!". The song that was playing stopped as if in sync with his greeting and she turned around.................................
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