‘Hey, hey,’ Rishi said with a broad smile as I approached the platform. ‘Looking smart!’

I smiled back, offering my hand.

‘You ready to relax and have a party?’ he asked as we stepped onto the train that would take us to the airport. I nodded, self-conscious about my old travel case and sneakers. I felt terrible that this friend I had made less than a week ago was paying for me to go away with him. Maa, of course, told me that some people want to give, that was what made them happiest, but I was already formulating plans on how to pay him back. I knew he would not accept money. I would need to find some creative way to repay him. On the train ride, Rishi chatted about how BusinessForward had changed his life. I listened intently, but subconsciously I scanned the carriage. He dug his elbow in my side and grinned.

‘You looking for that girl, Ashray? I don’t think she will be on this train,’ he said with a laugh. I blushed; I hadn’t realised that I was looking around that obviously.

‘You should have just asked her for her number; it would be a lot easier than searching for her on the train every day.’ He let out a laugh, and I joined him, realising how ridiculous I was being.

At the airport, Rishi pulled out his credit card to pay for the flights. I removed the roll of money Maa had given me before I left, in an attempt to pay. He dismissed me, taking the roll and shoving it deep into my pocket. He leaned over and whispered, ‘You can’t wave money around like that if you don’t want it pickpocketed.’

I looked around frantically for potential thieves. He laughed. ‘Look, Ashray, this time it’s my turn, next time it’s yours, okay? By next year’s festival you will be earning more than me anyway.’ He patted me on the back.

I didn’t understand why he had so much faith in me, but I smiled and nodded, hoping that what he said was the truth. We passed through to the departure hall. Passengers lay sleeping on the metal airport chairs, some with their bags under their heads, others with them tucked tightly under their seats. We sat down, and I pushed my frayed duffle bag under my seat, hoping no one would notice it.

‘So, where did you get that roll of money?’ Rishi asked. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat; there was no point lying to him.

‘I give Maa some of my salary every month. It’s meant for her to spend on herself, but she always puts it away in a tin and spends it on me on my birthday.’

‘I guess it’s the nature of every Indian mother,’ he said with a smile.

‘Maybe,’ I said.

We spoke for forty minutes while we waited to board our flight. Rishi had recently been dumped by his girlfriend, and was eager to get away to take his mind off the ugliness of their breakup. He had truly thought he would marry this girl, but it turned out that she had no intention of marrying him; she had stayed for the money and left him for a wealthy doctor in Kolkata. He was wounded but was not swearing off finding someone to spend his life with.