As the train trudged along its path, we placed our luggage at a place where it did not block the passage we were standing in. We met a girl, I forget her name, who was travelling on e-ticket that had gotten cancelled. When the TTE came to check the tickets, she got herself a General ticket with apparently the last bit of cash that was left with her. More on her later. After around one and a half hours, the first TTE came and went. After another two hours, while we were having our dinner, the next TTE came and it spelt trouble for us. While the previous one understood our situation with the holiday rush and all, this one I guess had a fight with his wife before he left his house in the morning and still hadn't got over it. He saw that we had wait listed ticket and he went berserk, asking us to go to the Sleeper class immediately after finishing our dinner. 'Yeah, like there is plenty of space there. We will be welcomed with open arms by the passengers there!' He left after some time and we heaved a sigh of relief having no intention of following what he said.
We continued to try and Jugaad our way out of the problem of getting some decent space to sleep. We almost were successful in our plans but the final nail was missing. So in the end what I dreaded came true and we had to take our luggage to the end of the bogey.......right where the toilets are......... and had to spend the night in the narrow passage where the doors are......I think you get the picture. We were not alone. The girl I mentioned in the beginning was with us too and she was real friendly. I mean throughout the night she wanted to sleep as close to me as possible. The more I try not to touch her, the more she comes closer. So by the end of the hour, I was in a corner, cramped for room, unable to sleep and there she was, sleeping as if there is nothing weird about sleeping next to a toilet with all the stench filling your senses. And to top it all, she was snuggling with my legs! So began and remained so, the most uncomfortable night of my relatively short life. With the cold steel floor as my bed and iron walls for support, I spent the night half asleep, totally cramped, with pain in every possible part of my body and a weirdo for (close) company.
I have never looked forward to sunrise as I did that night. For I knew, only after sunrise would this ordeal end. And finally, after what seemed like the longest night that can be, the sun rose and so did my heart. People rose from their slumber and started to come down from the upper seats and we started a lookout for empty upper berths so that we can sleep there. We found some and just went to sleep as if we had nothing to give or take from this world. It was probably the best sleep that I have ever had. After I woke up, I felt refreshed though last night's ordeal did leave its impact in the form of pain all over. We made our way down and occupied a berth which was empty because some family had booked it till Jammu but had to travel till Bhopal only. God bless them!
The rest of journey was your run of the mill train journey. We sipped hot tea, ate and watched movies on my laptop. Actually, a whole lot of people watched movies with us. We talked, we laughed and did all that you do on a train. In between, Atul bid us goodbye at Gwalior. We carried on. At last, after thirty hours on the train, half of which were torturous and unforgettable we alighted from the train and breathed a sigh of relief. 'Sigh!'
Sonal's dad and bro came to pick her up and so did my bro. I got home in a state of utter tiredness and was as hungry as I could be. Sipping home made tea, sitting on a comfortable couch felt like heaven and I thanked God for that. So ended that fateful journey about which so much has already been written and said. And nothing more will be.........
Adios!