The Orphan

I was walking through the platform of that station under the summer sun. I had to catch the noon train for my home town where I am living. There was no enough cover for the platform. Only small roof was provided in front of Station master's room with an old electric fan slowly running with difficulty of ageing. I moved to the counter and collected my ticket. Lady in the counter smiled at me, by seeing her usual customer. I moved to the platform, in front of Station master's room, where there was a concrete bench under the fan. But it was crowded already. Instead of four people, same space in that bench was adjusted with seven. I stand some what near to them so that I could share the hot breeze coming from the same electric fan.

I waited for the train. I always interested to watch people while on traveling. People were like colors, different views, different expressions, and different kind of responses. Some enjoyed the journeys, others not. I belonged to the former ones. As my mind was traveling through some kind of wild thoughts, a bell rang near to Station master's office, a notice about the arrival of a train. In seconds, the station became alert. Whoever was walking very slowly started running to get tickets. Rush started at the ticket counter.

I could hear the howling of the train coming from distance. People started standing and coming near the edge of platform. Some was moving to the less crowded part on the platform. I stayed there in the same place for a while and then I was also started moving towards the end. Slowly it arrives to the station area and finally made a halt. Fortunately the door came in front of me and the train was less crowded. I entered and took a seat near the window in the platform side. I loved to be in that seat whenever I was traveling, so that I could see people in other stations, different scenes of real life while traveling.

After a long howl, my train started moving. Then only I noticed one son and mother, just now got down in that station, was moving away from me. Mother was trying to cover her son with some bags over his head for protecting from that heat. Initially son tried to oppose that, but while moving, slowly he accepted simple warm presentation of affection from his mother. Then I really wanted to be in the place of that son. I have read a lot about motherly love, but never experienced.

I started my life in an orphanage run by nuns. I was happy there in my childhood. So many children like me, playing together, eating together and always together. All were same and treated same. Some or other days whoever got lucky would be taken by their adopted father and mother. We also got sweets on that particular day. As I grown up, they moved me to other orphanage, entirely for boys. First separation was painful one. I was moved out from my environments for the last 12 years, my bed, my friends and a small world where I was very happy. After that, my days were going such a huge pace, I only knew about that, when I was kicked out of the orphanage. In that time, I was alone in this world, very few knowledge about the people and their life. But I survived.

Certain times I also thought about a family that I can live for and woke up for every day. I painted a faceless figure of my parents in my heart. I couldn't feel angry about them. May be situations in their life made them to throw me to the world. But they might not foresee the situation and life that their blood had undergone. Always had a banner with the name “Nobody’s own" or simply an "orphan".

But I only had one question to my mother if I could ever meet her" Whether she had shed a single drop of tear for me in the last 33 years?” May be or may not be.........