Two sides to every story....

Her side of the story (a perusal of her thoughts):
" How much more time will it take for this bus to arrive???? Look at the crowd gathering...Ah! there it is finally, let me get in now..quick!
Whew! finally in...Where is the conductor now..ah! there he is...(buys the ticket)...Let me see now..Any place to sit...yes..there it is..next to that guy in the black shirt...
Wow! Its so nice to finally sit down and rest my feet..all that standing at the bus-stop really kills me...But damn! Its the aisle seat..wish I had the window seat..should I ask the guy next to me if he would mind letting me sit at the window...(turning to the guy at the window seat, eyes meet)...Oh My God!!!! Its Him....After so many years...
How long ago was it?... 3 years..maybe more....Haven't been in any contact with him since then..no calls, no letters...Zero! Zilch! Nothing!....He still looks as good as ever...still makes my heart do a somersault....and he has the headphones in his ears as usual...used to have them on even when I used to talk to him...guess old habits die hard...

Should I smile at him? Should I say something?...Maybe I should...We didn't fight or anything..we just drifted apart somehow...But why isn't he saying anything? Did he even recognize me? Or maybe he did recognize me but is pretending that he hasn't....does he not feel anything anymore?

Maybe he is seeing someone else....Hmm..its likely that he's moved on...its been a rather long time...he was always popular with the girls....Wonder who it is with..maybe I know her...

Will he say something already?!!! My stop is almost here...won't he even say a little hi....

Oh! Chuck it! Here's my stop now...I'll get up now..get down and wont look at him!!!! "

His side of the story (a perusal of his thoughts) :

" Few more stops and I'll be home...Its been a long day...I think I'll go meet the gang at CCD before I head home...a nice coffee and some good conversation is what I need most now...and well X has bought a new bike...need to have a look at that too...

Ahhh! Himesh Reshammiya again...what happened to all the good singers...and all the good songs!!!...(she comes and sits next to him)....Hey! I know this scent..She used to wear it...(he turns to look at her at the same time that she looks at him)...It is her!...

Oh! there is a lump in my throat already....should I say something? Does she remember me? If she did, then she would probably have said something by now...but she hasn't even smiled at me yet...

No wait..she has recognized me for sure...She is giving me that ' you-and-your-earphones' look again...How well I know that look!....Hmmm...so she remembers me...but why won't she say anything??? ..she was always a little egoistic..that's it...her ego!

Is she going around with someone else now? Didn't she get in at the stop near the court? So I guess she did pass her Law exam...working now I guess...

Why is she getting up now? This is not where she used to live! Guess she moved..lives somewhere around here now....

Should I say something? I think I should..but she isn't looking back....

Oh! Forget it!"

Note: This is a fictional piece..Does not reflect the views of any individual person..But yes, I did prepare for this piece by asking a few girls and guys I know, how they would react if placed in a situation like this...and then I just created a mix of all the views I heard....So you may find your own views reflected here, or you might not...

Dear Mr.Terrorist....

Dear Mr. Terroist,

I hope you are happy. Psychologists tell me that you are trained not to feel any emotions. So, if you do not experience regret, guilt or fear of punishment, I suppose you cannot fel happiness or satisfaction at the success of your plans either. So why do you do what you do- when it offers you no job satisfaction?

You should be happy though- your plans worked perfectly! There was so much blood, so much loss of innocent lives...Did you kill as many people as you hoped to kill? You carried out your plan so well, Mr. Terrorist. Congratulations on a job well done!

This is why I sometimes think you are better than our government officials- atleast you do your job well! Our goverment officials rarely do their jobs- forget about doing it well. It is we citizens who took up the responsibility of rescuing survivors and taking them to the hospitals. We picked up the dead bodies of our fellow citizens from the tracks. The government officials made a few token visits,made a few symapthetic noises and and locked themselves up in some meeting. I wonder if we should elect them next time- we seem to be doing so much of their work, I'm sure we can run the country without them.

And this is why I think you are wasting your time Mr. Terrorist. You can kill us by the hundreds and the government won't do a thing because they don't care what happens to us- they give a damn! There are so many of us in this country that a few hundred less voters who do not exist anymore make no difference to their lives.

I haven't been able to tell my family that I'm fine. And I don't know if they are ok. The stupid phone lines were jammed! I had a fight with my parents before I left home today- I regret that now. I wish I could tell them I'm sorry. I wish I could tell them how much I love them. It is morning now Mr. Terrorist, and the trains are working again (our city never stops..it keeps moving on). I'll just hop into one of the trains and I'll be home in no time. I'm not scared of you, Mr.Terrorist.

And Mr. Terrorist, Thank you very much! Thanks to your well orchestrated blasts yesterday, I realized how many people love me and care for me. My boyfriend was so worried about me yesterday- he says he realized how much he loved me when he came so close to losing me. He has asked me to marry him (finally!).

I don't know if you are happy, Mr.Terrorist. But I am truly, very, very happy.

Yours sincerely,

A middle-class, local-train travelling Mumbaikar.

P.S. Although this is a work of fiction, any similarity to actual events or individuals is completely intentional. It compiles the various reactions I to the blasts that I heard from people around me. I've used a little bit of my imagination too.This post of mine is a tribute to all Mumbaikars.