She is putting on the make up. Mascara, lip gloss and the pink lipstick, some gloss on the cheek and now come out the heart shaped danglers for her ear. Her hair tied back and nails painted pink, she reaches deep inside her bag and pulls out a costume and wig. It is a nurse’s costume and a red wig.
No it isn’t my one of my sex fantasies; she is getting dressed – front of my eyes, right across the aisle, here in a train bound to Karlsruhe, Germany.
Not the thing that was on top of my mind when I woke up two days back but hey I’m not complaining.
A couple of days back, minutes away from my 26th birthday I walked anonymously in the crowd, nursing myself and my drink as well. Come 12 O’clock nothing changed but I got a year older. Boom.
Made my way back to my apartment and passed out. Birth days have a way of making you feel special but old. I think the price is well paid. Made it to work, dressed in a shirt my friends bought me and hashed out plans to watch Iron Man 2 and make it in time for happy hours at TGIF. Turn of events (which I shall not delve in to) at work just bolstered the idea of having fun as soon and as much as I could.
Got hammered at TGIF, cruised to a theatre to watch Iron Man 2 and then back home to
drink some more and pack. I had a flight to catch in about 3 hours for Germany.
Roomie came down to see me off, offered that I should take one of his jackets and I obliged. Made it to the airport and found out that some of colleagues were travelling on the same flight. Well, it is always nice to see people you know and that too unexpectedly but there are times when you just want to be by yourself. At least I’d though about thinking something and the thought of not able to do that thinking was annoying me.
A lot ran through my mind, a year back I was outside the gates, seeing some one off on the same flight, the promise to board the same flight in a year, now boarding the same flight but for a different destination, touching down in Frankfurt and then making my way to Black Forest, to my friends and host family, watching the sunset from that glass roof of mine, beer binging, football and jogging in the forest, and enjoying German bread and cheese. Sunk in nostalgia, I downed my drink on board EK525 and tried getting as much sleep as I could enroute Dubai.
After bidding adieu to folks from my organization, I was truly by myself and kicked, because when those monster wheels come out for the second time from the belly of the Boeing, I would be where I really want to be. Deutschland.
After two plastic meals, three beers and 7 hours in the back of the flight between two hefty Germans, I was more than kicked to get rolling. I got through immigration control, took a shuttle to the train station and I was off to Wiesbaden. When the train got in, I wasn’t sure if she would be able to make it to pick me up. But she did. She was there, in a black jacket, short hair, excited, searching for me.
Meike, I had met her four years back in Germany and then a few years back in India. We were in Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai at the same time but interestingly, we only managed to meet in Mumbai. I’m sure none thought of when we would meet next. What was so great about meeting again was that a lot has changed in and around but it was still very exciting to see her.
We spent the evening sitting on the balcony sipping German beer and catching up about what had passed by in the last year and a half. As the German summer draws closer evenings are stretched longer. It is simply priceless to enjoy the evening glow that normally lasts for half an hour, experience it stretch over a couple of hours. In a short while, evening gave way to cloudless night and led us to local pubs for some drinks and night life.
Like a kid in the sports shop, I wanted to see and experience as much as I could in as little time as I could. Eventually, we made our way back home by midnight.
And after two days of travelling, partying, absorbing, I finally took a pause.
Saying Goodbye to her this morning was equally dramatic, the train door closing automatically and both of struggling to keep it open so long as the wheels started rolling. Something inside you just shrinks and twists, when you say Goodbye without knowing when you shall meet the people you love again. It was the same feeling inside me.
Soon a few other swirling thoughts took over as the wheels started rolling. In addition to watching the mascara, lipstick, costume and wig come out, I was thinking of meeting my host family. And my mind was travelling faster to the destination than the fast paced Deutsche Bahn.
