Memories survive forever

The train had just started and her journey began. Far from the crowds, she was trying to find herself. A journey of self-realization. Well, it might seem to us as a plot of many movies but her life was on stage. When she was in the 7th standard, her mother had bought her the book ‘Alchemist’ and exactly after 14 years,5 months she had started her own journey. She looked out of the windows, the train left behind all people and houses and the meadows. But how does that even matter to her, she was in it to ‘leave’ cause her soulmate had refused to ‘stay’. Or, the world had conspired to take her away. The covid-19 pandemic had taken away her mother from her and she was her soulmate. Since, then she has been searching for light, she had been clinging to hopes but everytime slipping down and sinking to the dark pits of despair.

It was a cold November morning and with sunrise, she left house with a backpack containing minimal necessities for travelling. What was heavy was her mind, the memories, the agony, the pain, the sharp pangs of grief and all those untold words which her heart longed to tell her soulmate. She randomly took a ticket to one of the longest distances that the train would travel and boarded the train.

The compartment in which she sat contained very few passengers. An elderly couple sat next to her. She could not control the tears when she saw them smiling to each other as her heart yearned to see her parents the same way. All her relatives, friends and well-wishers called her parents lovebirds till the day when death separated them. Why could her parents not enjoy their old age together? Why had destiny been so cruel? All such thoughts crossed her mind when a young girl almost of her age sat next to her. She had not noticed her as she was looking out of the windows trying desperately to hide her tears. The young lady whispered into her ears ” Are you fine?”. She turned back and again that gentle, soothing voice whispered ” Hi, I am Lennore”. She tried to adjust her voice and tears at the same time and greeted her back ” Hi, I am Torsha, Torsha Roy”. Lennore smiled.

They started talking with each other. Soon they found solace in each other's words. Their conversation continued till evening. They shared their life views, their life stories and poured their hearts out. Torsha, though an introvert, could not stop talking with Lennore as she felt that it was not their mouth but souls speaking to each other. Torsha told her of her mother’s demise and how that had shattered her life. Lennore took her hands into hers. Held them strongly and in the most gentle way said ” The world spins and creates new notes every day. Some tunes bring joy while some tears. Have you not heard of the famous Shakespearean quote ‘ As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods;

They kill us for their sport.’ “. Torsha was very familiar to this quote as her mother, a star at literature, often quoted it.

Lennore stood up and asked Torsha to follow her. Lennore stopped at the gates of the train. The wind tossed and twirled her hair. Her eyes had a swallowing depth. Torsha stood looking at her. After few moments of silence, Lennore pointed to the old couple they had been sitting next to, “How happy they are, isn’t it?” Torsha replied, ” Wish my parents too had the same fate and the same smiles”. Lennore gave a sarcastic smile and kept looking outside the doors. ” Let's play a game to see exactly how happy they are”, Lennore said. Torsha,not very excited, shrugged nonchalantly. Torsha thought that atleast that way she could spend some more time with Lennore. Lennore wrote a chit and handed that to Torsha and asked her to take that to the elderly couple without reading it. Torsha felt awkward and confused. However, she finally agreed.

Torsha headed towards the couple while Lennore waited at the gates. As she handed over the chit to the couple, her legs trembled with the anxiety of mixed emotions. The couple opened it and tears rolled down their cheek. The chit contained a stamp-size photo of ” Lennore” in soldier’s uniform and at the back of the photo Major Roshni Roy had been imprinted.

Torsha was taken aback. On seeing it she immediately turned towards the gates but there was no one. Only, her pocket had a note and that read as below:

“These are my parents who lost me in the war last year. They try to smile to make each other smile even at the darkest hours. Lennore is awaited by her beloved but never comes back, don’t you remember ‘The Raven’ which your mother had taught. Life is beautiful, sometimes we live with people and sometimes with memories.”

Torsha boarded off the train at the next stop and returned home to her father. She started a new life with her father and memories of her mother cloaking their lives forever.