The Morning Whirlwind

The morning sun shines brightly through the windows of the Delhi Metro as I try in vain for some rest after my journey. I change lines at Sikanderpur to travel in Rapid Metro Gurgaon. The Rapid Metro is a short track that loops back on itself. I get down at the Vodafone metro station. Its 10.45 a.m., past the peak hour, and only a few others get down with me. I swipe the metro card and as I walk through the gate a girl enters my field of vision. She seems dressed for another corporate job in the great Gurgaon cyberhub. She’s wearing a stark, white shirt and black trousers; dressed like just another cog in the great corporate wheel. What sets her apart is the fact that she is sobbing, sobbing her heart out. Big fat tears roll down her sharp cheekbones and down her face. It makes you wonder what it is she is crying about. There she is, a breathtakingly gorgeous woman and she is crying her eyes out. You sometimes hear about it but I’ve never seen a gorgeous woman bawl in public. Her tears are rolling down like rain even as she is oblivious to every eye in the station on her. What would make a woman cry like this? Surely it is not for some lost trinket; no woman sobs for a lost earring. So it must be about a man, or a woman considering the changing sexual identities. However if it about a man why is she sobbing about it? Don’t gorgeous girls like her have a posse of ever-ready men around her-always ready to please and ready with another gift? I’ve never seen gorgeous women cry, have you? Nevertheless, my heart goes out to her so I come up behind her and tap her on the shoulder. She whirls around and her face goes incredulous with shock. You see I know her and her name is G—-. G—- hugs me tightly and then she screams at me, “You bastard, how you dare go away for two weeks and not even contact me?” ”Okay, okay just listen to me” I begin to say. The office called for some urgent work in a rural area and I had to leave at a moment’s notice. I haven’t even contacted my family for two weeks; my office just told them I’d be gone. I know I have email, WhatsApp and what not but a 20 hour workday to meet a schedule doesn’t leave you any time to sleep let alone chat with anyone. I have this speech prepared and ready to go but I take a moment to just look at her. G—- places her hands on my shoulder and socks me in the balls with her knee. O God! The pain is paralyzing and I crumple to floor. She looks disdainfully at me and says, “Serves you right” as she walks away. O dear God! This woman has an immediate way of expressing her displeasure. But even as she walks away I can see a smile tugging at her lips as she wipes away her tears. G——-, you see, was crying for me.