THE GIRL BEHIND THE SHAWL

Should She Have Been A Little Bolder?

- Sanjay Kumar Pandey

Seema was on her way to her college. She was travelling by the government-run city bus, which, as usual, was very crowded that day. Her college was located 13 kilometers away from her residence, and she often boarded the city bus to reach it and return from there.

When she boarded the bus, she found all seats occupied, barring the one located at the back of the conductor's seat, second from the front row. She hurriedly went to it and occupied it before someone else could. It was the month of May and the weather was fairly hot. After sitting on the seat that she shared with an old lady in her late 50s, she wiped her face clean of the sweat with her dupatta, and scanned the bus with curiosity, as was her habit.

Most of the passengers seemed to be the local people and daily commuters. While several of them were regular college and school students, there were some who looked like daily office-goers, farmers, and wage workers.

She inhaled a deep breath and looked outside while the bus moved ahead speedily. While she was engrossed in watching the fast-moving world outside, which looked a little blurred thanks to the high speed of the bus, she felt someone looking at her. At first, she thought that it was the elderly lady with whom she was sharing the seat. But she was half-asleep with her eyes partially closed. Then her gaze drifted towards the right, over the right side of the aisle, and she found a young girl who looked around 12 years old. It was she who was looking at her with her large eyes.

She was in a white top and a pair of blue jeans and looked from a good family. Still, there was something quite strange about the kid, especially about her large brown eyes and the expression on her face that arrested her attention at once.