A Chance Meeting at Anand Vihar: When Silence Finally Spoke

 Night had already settled when Tanweer hurried out of the metro station and stepped into Anand Vihar Railway Station. The sky was dark, but the station shone under harsh white lights—bright enough to erase the stars.

From the escalator, everything looked restless.
People walked fast, dragged heavy luggage, spoke loudly on phones, laughed without reason. Life moved in all directions at once.

Tanweer tightened his grip on his two suitcases.

They felt heavier than before.

Inside them were four years of college life—books he would never open again, certificates that proved survival, gym gloves, and small things he carried only because they belonged to his past.

A coolie looked at him and gestured silently.
Tanweer shook his head.
He trusted his youth. His strength.

Waiting on Platform Number Two

Platform number two smelled of tea, dust, and warm metal. Tanweer placed his suitcases near a bench and sat down. Sweat rolled from his temple and dropped onto the faded fabric of the bag.

An announcement echoed across the platform.
Somewhere, a train horn cried—long and hollow, like a distant memory.

That’s when he saw her.

At first, only a glimpse—standing near a pillar, scrolling on her phone. Then again, near the tea stall. Tanweer looked once more, just to be sure.

It was her.

His college senior.
The girl he had noticed for years but never spoken to.
The name he had rehearsed silently but never dared to call.

She looked the same—simple, calm, familiar. A small bag rested near her feet.

Tanweer looked away. Then back again.

His heart began to beat like it used to before exams.

Memories Between Trains

He bought a bottle of cold water and drank slowly, hoping to calm himself. But memories returned anyway—college corridors, early morning lectures, her passing smile that was never meant for him.

He had always been the quiet one.
The invisible one.

The train status board blinked.

Train delayed by two hours.

Two hours.

Tanweer stood up.

His legs felt heavy, but something stronger pushed him forward. He adjusted his jacket and walked toward her, every step louder than the announcements around him.

“Excuse me,” he said softly.

She looked up.

“Yes?”

Her voice was gentle.

“Were you… in Galgotias Engineering College?”

She smiled, surprised.
“Yes. You too?”

When Silence Finally Breaks

They talked.

At first, slowly.
Then easily.

About college days, professors, placements, the city. About how time had changed everything—and nothing at all. Words flowed without effort. The noise of the station faded. Announcements became distant echoes.

She laughed.

Tanweer relaxed.

Two hours passed without weight. Trains arrived and left. Fog thickened. The station breathed around them.

Before leaving, she unlocked her phone.

“Are you on social media?”

“Yes,” Tanweer replied—almost too quickly.

She added him as a friend.

Some Meetings Don’t End at the Platform

The train finally arrived.

They exchanged smiles—quiet, warm, unfinished.

Tanweer boarded with his suitcases and sat near the window. His phone rested safely in his pocket, but his heart felt lighter than it had all night.

The station slowly moved away.

But something stayed with him.

Click on the book to read sample or order☝