Three tea sellers and two vada pav vendors entered the compartment. He bought one vada pav and sipped his tea while looking out of the window. The remnants of rain clouds were still there.

The train started again. Most passengers were now awake. Some were brushing their teeth near the door. A woman was chiding her child for having peed on the berth. An old Madrasi man sitting next to him took out a box from his pocket which contained his artificial teeth. He placed them in his mouth and looked at himself in the mirror on the box lid. He seemed very proud of his shiny white teeth. His wife said to a fellow lady passenger in a mischievous tone, ‘He thinks he is nothing less than Rajinikanth.’ Everyone around started laughing. Another bearded man who apparently was a Bihari was travelling with his wife. His wife had been complaining about being bitten by something on her stomach for quite some time. She faced the other side and took off her burqa. Her husband shook and dusted her veil near the window and returned it to her. She kept it aside and called out to a tea seller. She apparently wanted to be free from the black veil for a while now. Some young French boys sat on the opposite berth. They were headed for Goa. They had been gaping at the veiled woman for quite some time. So, she wanted to remove her veil to reveal her age to them. Two dusty-eyed girls walked from the other compartment and stood by Asrar’s seat to look out of the window. They were wearing shorts and had attracted the attention of the entire compartment. Asrar cast a passing glance at them and resumed looking outside. They had pretty legs. Looking at them, he was reminded of Jamila Miss’s legs. The only difference was that Jamila Miss had silky golden hair from below her knees to her ankles.

The sun spread its rays on the green stretch of the mountains outside. The tamarind, jackfruit, peepal, mango trees stood drenched in the rain. Wild grass had grown around their roots. There was greenery as far as one could see. The drops of rain on leaves, branches and the grass shone in the first rays of the sun. Waterfalls tumbled down a few hills. There were small drains around the train tracks. The water reflected the red soil. These drains surely met some rivers which emptied themselves into the Arabian Sea. The red flowing water retained its identity while flowing through the salty green waters, although the sea gently diluted the distinction. The sea, after all, had a reputation to maintain. ‘The sea engulfs everything, even memories.’ This thought ran in Asrar’s head. He was reminded of that night when Jamila Miss had accompanied them to the sea.