A traveler was sitting right across me in a moving train. Her smooth and fair complexion concealed her real age. Sweet girl I thought. Her straight black hair softly ran over her bare shoulders. Her hands moving fiercely criss-cross, she turned to me and smiled. There you go, she is approachable I thought. What are you making? I leaned forward. I am making a friendship band, came the reply. Beautiful.

In a travel like this, traveling with strangers for almost thirty-six hours, one doesn’t have much to think about. So I kept gazing at the movement of her fingers, her transparent cotton top, rugged three fourth, travel sandals, and many bracelets around her wrist. Care free spirited I thought.

I love traveling but have been less fortunate to explore anything beyond my official trips within the country. I was feeling jealous of her. She is so happy. She has her freedom. What an awesome experience. Occasionally we exchanged smiles. I couldn’t hold my curiosity to know the bliss she is experiencing.

As soon as she finished making her blue and purple colored friendship band I asked her few questions. Her name: Susie (changed), Country: Japan, Traveling: in India and now heading towards Nepal. Wow!  I shared my lunch with her. I shared my fruits with her. I shared my snacks with her. At which she commented in a broken English, magic, your bag is magic. We both laughed. More than the spoken words we were interacting in body language. She took me by hand and led me towards the train canteen. She bought us Coke. Holding our coke, we stood opposite at the train exit gate letting the wind dry our sweaty faces. Not knowing much about each other we stood there merrily.

We went back to our seats. She began to talk and I listened to her feeling stupefied. She told me about her first travel to Nepal with her lover, a native of New Zeeland. They had some differences and she was left alone in the middle of their travel. She then decided to travel to India. She spent about three months in Leh-Ladhakh, where she met a Tibetan young man. Love sprouted again, this time more real. She went back to Japan at the end of her VISA. She worked hard, saved money and again traveled to India, planning that this time she would take her lover to Japan, get married and live happily there after. She said, her mother was excited about it. She met him. Unfortunately he was already out of love. Again with a broken heart, she decided to travel to Nepal, where she will meet a person, whom she met while she was in Goa. He is a Japanese. Hopes. Where can one find true love?

I was wrong. She wasn’t happy but broken completely. Her experience of travel wasn’t blissful but of pain, hurt and rejection. Deep longing for love is driving her crazily from one country to another country in search of that right person.

Next day early morning she shook me. I woke up from my sleep. It was still dark outside. She said, nice to meet you. Bye. Mail me. And she put something on my palm. It was the friendship band that she had been making. I gave her a tight hug and said, hope you find your true love. The train moved and we waved.