A Love Story….of two different times

A Short Story by G.S.Vasu Kumar

Note: - This is an edited and modified version of my old story ‘Time Slip’, which I had written in the year 2003.

Avinash waved his hand, as the train whistled and left the railway station. His father waved back at him. He was going to Hyderabad city to spend his summer holidays in his cousin’s place, which he was visiting after a long time. Actually, he wanted to meet his pen friend, Archana. They had communicated with each so far through letters, though recently she had shared her landline number with him.

He had to keep imagining about her since the start of their friendship, as she wasn’t willing to exchange their snaps.

Let us meet in person someday rather than sharing our pictures, she had written once, in one of her letters, when he had raised this topic.


The evening breeze was blowing into the compartment through the window, which ruffled his hair. He combed them gently with his fingers. He switched on his Transcend MP3 Player, plugging the ear phones to his ears. He started listening to his favorite song You took my heart away….


Once again, his mind started imagining about Archana.


He picked up the Sidney Sheldon’s novel The Master of the Game and started reading the same. He had shared some of his favorite novels with her. She was a fan of Chetan Bhagat and loved his books a lot.


The train picked up its speed rapidly. Time flew by, as the train reached the station and came to a screeching halt. But he was engrossed in that novel that he did not notice a young and beautiful girl in her early twenties enter the compartment and seat opposite to him.


She was neatly dressed, a slim figure, an anxious black eyes, her dark hair fell softly on her shoulders.


The guard waved the green flag, which was followed by the train’s whistle. It started leaving the station.


Suddenly, a fragrance reached his nose which made him to lift his face, which was so far behind his book. He looked out of the window of the compartment.


No, it isn’t coming from outside, he thought and started reading once again.


But the fragrance started haunting his nose once again. He saw directly at her and he was suddenly lost, and couldn’t take his eyes off her. He kept staring at her. She looked at him and caught him in the act; she just gave him a rather annoyed glare.


The ticket collector entered their compartment and he started checking everyone’s tickets and when it came to her turn came, she took out her purse and she was shocked to find it missing. She tried to convince him that she had taken her taken before boarding the train compartment, but he refused to listen to her. He demanded her to pay fine for traveling without a ticket. She searched her for her purse, which she couldn’t trace.


Avinash took money from his wallet and paid her fine. She thanked him after the ticket collector left the compartment.


“What’s your name?” Avinash asked her, he had lost his heart to her. It was love at the first sight.


“Jhansi,” She replied, smiling at him. “And what is yours?”


“Avinash, but you can call me Avi,” He replied smiling back at her.


As the next station came, everyone in the compartment got down, except them. The train picked up speed as it left the station. Later, it passed through a tunnel and as it came out of it, he looked at her. Even she looked at him, but he resumed reading his book.


“What is that for? Are you deaf or something?” She asked, pointing her finger towards the earphones of his MP3 Player.


“No, I am listening to the songs from my MP3 player. Haven’t you seen it before?” He asked, pulling it off from his ears. “Would you like to listen to it?” He gave it to her and showed her how to plug it to her ears. He was surprised that she didn’t know about MP3 player.


Perhaps, she is from some remote village, where people are not aware of such things, he thought.


Sometime later: -


“How is it?” he asked her.


“Music is good and different. Unlike what I have heard so far,“ She said, giving it back to him, “Thank you,”


“No mention,” He said taking it and as he did so, his hand touched hers. They looked into each others’ eyes passionately. They both came closer to each other, as he took her hand into his, and rubbed it gently. He continued reading his book and didn’t know when he fell asleep.When he woke up, she was gone.


Maybe, she got down in the previous station, he thought.


Hyderabad railway station had arrived and Vicky was waiting for him in the platform.


“Hi! Brother, how are you?” He asked hugging him, “and how was the journey?”


“Fine,” He said.


Later at home, Vicky unzipped Avinash’s bag to see what he had bought for him.


“Diary? When did you start writing a diary?” Vicky asked, taking it out first from his bag.


“Yes,” He said, relaxing on the bed.


“But this is old one…very old one,” He said turning the pages of the diary.


“Old one? Look properly. Do you have short sight or what? It’s current year’s diary.” He said, turning and looking at him.


“You have short sight and not me!” He said throwing it at him, “It’s 1942’s diary. Is it your grandpa’s diary?” He asked jokingly.


“1942? How can it be?” Avinash asked, surprised and shocked, catching hold of it and looking for himself. “It is not my diary!”


“Hey! When did you start wearing salwar kameez, etc?” He asked laughing aloud, taking them one by one out from the bag, and showing them to him.


“Oh! God,” He exclaimed, leaping out of the bed, “It should be her bag!”


“Don’t tell me that you took her bag by mistake?”


“You’re right!” he said, “Our bags looked similar….”


“So, what’s next?”


“She should have written her address in this diary of hers. So let us go and give it back to her.” He said turning the pages of the diary, looking for her address.


“Give what to whom?” asked Vicky’s grandmother, coming into their room, “Let me have a look at it?” she said taking it.


“Well, this handwriting looks quite familiar to me,” She continued, “Ah! It’s Jhansi’s handwriting!” she cried overjoyed.


“Jhansi’s handwriting ?!?” They both exclaimed surprised.


“Yes, she was my childhood friend. Where did you get this diary from?”


“Grandma, since you tell us that she was your childhood friend, does that mean she is of your age, right?” Vicky asked.


“Yes, if she was alive today,” She said with a sigh.


“Alive? Isn’t she alive now?” Avinash asked shocked.


“It was the fateful evening of 14th August ,at about 5.30 pm, in the year 1947, I and she were both walking in the market square. When some freedom fighter, who wanted to shoot and kill Sir Simon Richard Hibbs, who was responsible for many innocent deaths during the freedom struggle. He fired a bullet at him, but the bullet missed it’s target and hit her and she died on the spot.” She concluded.


“How old was she then?” Vicky asked.


“Twenty-four, I think.” She said, “Anyway, keep this diary safe, okay?” she said, getting up and leaving from the room.


“Sure.” Said Vicky, “Now, I get it!”


“You get what?” Avinash asked.


“Tell me was there anything peculiar or strange thing happening while she got into the train or when she got down?”


“Well, I was so much immersed in my book that I didn’t even notice her enter the compartment nor did I notice her go. She had left before I could wake up, but before I could wake up, I was hearing some distant shouts…I thought perhaps it was in my dream.”


“Like what?”


“Like Vande Mataram! Quit India!”


“That’s it! That’s it!” Vicky said, “She had a time slip, and she came to the present time. Later, she went back to where she rightly belonged,” Vicky said, explaining it to him.


“Is it possible?”


“Yes, It is a rare phenomenon, and on that count, you are really very lucky.”


“How I wish that I could do something to save her life? I think that I have fallen deeply in love with her.”


“Come on, brother, you can’t change the history, alright.” Vicky said, patting him on his shoulders.


Next Morning:-


“Avi, wake up!” Vicky cried, pulling off his blanket and shaking him up. He pulled the curtains and the sunlight seemed to pierce though Avinash’s sleepy eyes.


“What is it?” He asked, yawning sheepishly and blocking his eyes with his arms.


“See today’s newspaper!” Vicky said throwing it at him.


“Scientist Dr.Raman invents The Time Machine, through which one can travel back and forward in time. So, what?” He asked, yawning and looking up at his cousin.


“So, what ? Hey! We both can travel back in time to 1947 and meet your lady love, Jhansi!” He cried, leaping onto the bed and kneeling before him.


“Oh, yes!” He said, overjoyed, “But do you think that he would help us out in this?”


“Sure, he will once he comes to know about your love story. The only constraint in your love story is time, and if you do succeed in traveling back in time. Then nothing on Earth would come in-between your love story!” He said, “Now get up and get ready soon.”


“Alright.” He said, leaping out of his bed, overjoyed.


Later, they both went to Dr.Raman’s place and explained to him whatever had happened and he listened to his story with much curiosity.


“So you had a time slip,” Dr Raman said, when Avinash concluded his story, “It is a rare thing to happen, and you are fortunate to go back in time and then come back without your knowledge.”


“So would you help us?” Vicky asked curiously.


“Sure, I will,” He said, “please follow me,” He said, standing up and leading them into his huge laboratory.


“Well, after I had invented this time machine, I needed to test it to know whether it really works or not? So….”


“So?” They both asked, curiously.


“I had transported my pet dog ‘Tracy’ back in time to 1947, but someone should have got curious to know what this time machine is really about. So they had opened the door and let my ‘Tracy’ out. However, the time machine came back with this bag in it.” He said, taking it out from one of the shelf in the machine and showing it to them.


“What does it contain?” Avinash asked curiously.


“Well, I was surprised to find a dairy of the current time, some clothes, a MP3 Player, etc.” He said, unzipping the bag and showing it to them.


“Oh! God, it is indeed my lost bag!” exclaimed Avinash, having a closer look at it.


“What? Then you can take it.” He said, giving it to him.


“Well, Let’s travel back in time and which year, time, month and date you both would like to go to?”


“5.00 PM, 14th August 1947, Hyderabad.” They both said together.


“Fine.” He said pressing some buttons and the door of the time machine closed, as they fastened their seat belts. It started rotating round and round in great speed and suddenly flashed into the thin air like light or even faster than that. The next moment they found themselves in a strange place. As Dr.Raman opened the door, they all got down.


“Where are we now?” asked Vicky.


“In the same old city but in 1947!” said Dr.Raman, “Well, let’s go and find it out for ourselves. Because seeing is believing,”


They passed through a busy bazaar street and managed to reach the market square well in time at 5.25 pm.


They found a mob of men shouting the slogans “Vande Mataram!” and “Quit India” and the British army was trying their best to suppress the crowd, but they only came back in many numbers. So, even lathe charge failed to scare them away. Just then Sir Simond Hibbs got down from his car.


Jhansi and Vicky’s grandmother, both young girls were passing by that market square, a freedom fighter aimed his gun at Sir Simond Hibbs. He was about to press the trigger of his gun when someone pushed another freedom upon him, who went and hit his hand, as he pressed the trigger of the gun. The stray bullet raced towards Jhansi, who was unaware of it. Avinash leaped forward dashing through the crowd, as fast as he could and pushed her down along with him in the nick of the time. The bullet hit the window glass of Sir Simond Hibbs’s car and it cracked to pieces.


Later :-


“Thank you very much for saving my life.” Jhansi said hugging him.


“It’s okay,” He said, “Do you remember me?”


“Yes, I do,” She said, “I want to tell you something…”


“Tell me…what is it?”


“I…I love you.” She said, bowing her head down in shy.


“I love you too.” He said, hugging her again and caressing on her forehead.


“Woof! Woof!” barked a dog coming towards them.


“Oh! Tracy, where had you been forso long?” asked Raman picking it up and caressing it.


“Jhansi, why don’t you come along with me and we can stay together happily,” Avinash asked.


“No, I belong to this era and time. Sorry, I can’t leave it and come with you. Why don’t you stay back?”


“Unfortunately, I can’t do that. It is okay,” He said, sadly, “I will miss you.”


“So shall I,” She said, in tears, “Take care, Bye!”

When they came back to the present time, Avinash went to the address which was written in the diary. He wanted to return the bag. He came to know that she had passed away at the age of 76 years, sometime back. Jhansi had left a letter, along with her personal diary for him, hoping that someday, he would come back and collect it.

“Thanks for this,” Avinash said taking it, “Tell me something about her?” He asked looking at a middle-aged person.

“Well, she remained without marrying, but she adopted and brought me up like her own son.” He said, “even though she is my auntie, and real my parents had been killed in a car accident. She told me how you had saved her life. I should thank you for what you did for her, and for giving me a caring mother. You were her real life hero, and I am proud of your different love story, which I am never going to forget.”


“Thanks.” He said, “Will you take me to her grave, please?”


“Sure, I will.” He said.


At her grave, Avinash placed some flowers. Tears filled in his eyes, fell down on the grave.


Later, back at home :-


“Avi, you’ve changed the paste and have thus become a great person.” Vicky said.


“So are you.” He said, reading the letter and then turning the pages of the diary.


In the last page of the diary, it was written: “To my hero, who saved my life, I shall always be grateful to, in my life and as well as in my death”. Love, Jhansi.


“Hello! Can I speak to Archie?”


“Speaking.”


“Hi! Archie, I am Avi, Avinash. How are you ?”


“Hi! I am fine. How about you?”

“I'm fine too. When shall we meet ?”


“Tomorrow morning at 10.30 am at Birla Temple.”


“Hey ! How do I recognize you?”


“Well, I will come in a pink Chudidhar.”


“Fine, then. See you tomorrow.” He said, “Bye!” hanging the phone down.

The End