Chapter 1
It was his fifth night in Mumbai. He sat amidst the hustle of the railway station, surrounded by honking vehicles, announcements blaring, and vendors calling out.
He gently stroked his kitten’s head as it purred. ”K bhayo, mero chotto maya?" (What’s up my little love?) 😇 he cooed in a soft, babyish voice. The kitten opened its mouth, meeting his gaze, and he chuckled.
This little one was his baby, Meeshu.😻 He had met her just a day after arriving in Mumbai from Sikkim to start a new job at a café. A friend had recommended the job, and though he had agreed reluctantly, he decided to give it a shot.
But the adjustment was anything but easy. From the serene hills, flowing waterfalls, and open fields, he had landed in a city teeming with relentless traffic and towering skyscrapers. He had gone from harvesting sugarcane and laughing with friends in the fields to struggling with a few simple Hindi words, from calling familiar faces ”dai" to awkwardly addressing strangers as“bhai,”, from calling customers ′hajur′ to addressing them as’sir/maam′ and from eating simpledal bhaatto unfamiliarbutter naan. Life had taken a sharp turn.
Yet, here he was, with no choice but to keep moving forward.
One day, he noticed a tiny, hungry white kitten hovering near his apartment. He was eating, but the persistent mews drew him outside, and he offered a few scraps of fish from his plate. The kitten devoured them eagerly, and he patted its head with a smile. From inside, a roommate called out, “Bhai, sirf itna hi khana hai yaha...usme se bhi billi ko khilayega toh humlog kya khayenge?”
“Umm...mein toh sirf mera plate se de raha hu..." he replied with a sigh.
Soon, the kitten, Meeshu, started visiting him daily. He fed her whatever he could and before long, she became an irreplaceable part of his life. After a tiring day, she was the one thing that could make him smile. He would scoop her up and laugh like a father greeting his child after work. 💖
He even started taking Meeshu with him everywhere, except to work. That day, she accompanied him to the railway station too.
As he stroked her neck, his gaze wandered.
He saw her. Not just a girl, an angel, or so it seemed to him. 💖
She was breathtaking. Draped in a half-saree with minimal jewelry, a tiny bindi adorned her forehead. Her long hair curled softly at the ends, her lips painted a subtle pink, and her eyes , large, luminous, held tiny droplets, like pearls, falling gently. Listening closely, he realized she was quietly sobbing.
He couldn’t stop staring at her, as his inner thoughts read a poem -
"Ko ho yo ramri keti?Kina runu bhairaheki chha?Kasle yati sundar ketiko aankha ma aansu halne hola?”(“Who is this beautiful girl?Why is she crying?Who could have caused tears to fall in such lovely eyes?“) 💗
“He kesh, kati kaalo, lamo ra chamkilo...Aankha ta ekdam sundar... badaam jasto aakar ko...Mukha ta bilkul juna jasto...Rang yati gehro chha ki yati andhiyaro ma pani spashta dekhinchha...Aankh bata khasirahako tyo aansu hoina... moti jasto lagchha...Oth ta phool jasto... gulaabi... bilkul sahi aakar ko...Chhunda kati mridu lagne hola...Yati najuk lagchha ki keval herera sambhalna nasake tutne jasto chha...”(“Look at her hair - so black, long, and shining...Her eyes are stunning... shaped like almonds... Her face is like the moon...🌙Her skin tone is so bright that it’s clear even in this dim light...The tears falling from her eyes aren’t tears... more like pearls....🦪Her lips are like petals... pink... perfectly shaped...They must feel so soft to touch...💋)
He took a sigh, and smiled with awe filled eyes,
“Bharyang ko bheed ra shor ko bich ma pani, u ek phool jasto chha, tufan ko haat le chhuna nasakne...
Yati ajnaan manche haru... ma sanga yati farak... yati farak ki lagchha ma ta arko grah bata aayeko hu...
Tara yei sab ko bich ma, yo sundar, phool jasto keti alikati kina aafnai jasto lagiraheki chha?”
(“Despite all this crowd and noise, she is like a flower, untouched by the storm.....🌹
(So many unfamiliar people... so different from me... so different that it feels like I’ve come from another planet, yet among all of them, this beautiful, flower-like girl somehow feels... like she belongs to me?“) 💖
His thoughts shattered when Meeshu suddenly wriggled free and darted forward, almost straight towards the unfamiliar girl.
Snapping back to the present, he called out, “Meeshu!”
But she kept trotting ahead, her tiny paws padding across the platform until she stopped right before the girl.
The girl looked down at Meeshu, sniffled softly, then hesitated before extending a gentle hand to stroke her head. A faint smile bloomed on her tear-stained face, fragile yet beautiful.
Meeshu began nibbling at a small piece of leftover fish lying near the girl’s feet.
“Oh, timi yo khauna aayeki rahechhau!”(Oh so you came to eat this?!), ” he sighed, watching her with amused affection.
At the sound of his voice, the girl looked up, their eyes met.
He froze. The noise of the station dulled, and for a heartbeat, the world seemed to pause. 💖
She quickly turned away, though her gaze lingered on Meeshu now and then, her fingers absentmindedly brushing her saree.
When Meeshu finished eating, he scooped her back into his arms and stepped a few paces away. But his feet refused to carry him farther. Something inside him wanted to stay, to say something, anything.
He stole a glance at her, hesitating. “Eh...” he began softly.
He almost called herma’am, then stopped , she wasn’t a customer. His mind raced.What do I even call her?he thought.
Before he could decide, she turned at the sound of his voice.
Caught off guard, he stammered, “Eh... sorry... vo... ma’am... aapko pata hai ki yaha pe... koi billi ka khana milta hai? Istation ke andar?”
She looked at him blankly for a moment, then replied, her voice calm but gentle, “Andar dukaan hain. Vaha par shayad mile... lekin main sure nahi hoon.”
Her tone was soft and somehow it stunned him more than her face had.
“Ji... thank you,” he managed, still a little dazed, before walking toward the inside of the station with Meeshu in his arms.
