Raat ke 11:30 baj chuke the aur Howrah station par bheed ab kam hone lagi thi. Platform number 8 par khadi Delhi-bound Kalka Mail ke departure mein abhi bhi 20 minute baaki the. Ananya ne apne baal ko ek baar phir se thik kiya aur apna heavy suitcase kheechte hue train ki taraf badhi. AC first class ka coach dhoondhte hue uski nazar berth reservation chart par padi.

"Thank god," usne soch mein kaha. "Kam se kam ek raat ki journey akele to nahi kaatni padegi."

Lekin kya akele safar karna itna bura hota hai? Kabhi-kabhi anjaan logon ke beech mein rehna, apne aap se do-char hona, ajeeb tarah ki shanti deta hai. Ananya ne apne earphones nikale aur playlist shuffle kar di. Yeh aakhiri train thi jo aaj Delhi pahunchegi, aur woh kisi bhi keemat par apni important meeting miss nahi kar sakti thi.

Coach mein chadne ke baad usne berth number 12 dhundha – window seat, exactly jaisa usne book kiya tha. Par uske samne wali seat par pehle se hi ek aadmi baitha tha. Moonlight aur dim coach lights mein bhi woh handsome lag raha tha – styled hair, trimmed beard, aur ek simple white shirt mein.

"Excuse me," Ananya ne kaha, apna bag upper berth par rakhne ki koshish karte hue.

Woh aadmi abhi tak apne laptop mein kuch type kar raha tha. Uski concentration dekh kar Ananya ne dobara aur thoda zor se kaha, "Excuse me, kya aap please help kar sakte hain?"

Is baar usne apni nazrein uthain. Deep brown eyes, tired lekin alert. "I'm sorry," usne kaha, laptop side mein rakhte hue. "Main kuch zyada hi kaam mein busy tha."

Usne utth kar Ananya ka bag upper berth par rakh diya. "Waise, I'm Arjun," usne haath badhate hue kaha.

"Ananya," usne short smile ke saath jawab diya. "Thanks for the help."

Train ne halki si jerk ke saath move karna shuru kiya. Dheere-dheere Howrah station peeche choot gaya aur Kolkata ki chamakti hui lights khidki se dikhne lagi. Ananya ne apna phone nikala aur ek baar phir apni presentation ko check karne lagi. Kal subah 10 baje meeting thi aur usne pichle teen mahine sirf isi project par kaam kiya tha.

"Kya aap bhi Delhi ja rahe hain?" Arjun ne pucha, conversation start karte hue.

"Haan," Ananya ne reply kiya, bina phone se nazar uthaye. She wasn't particularly interested in small talk.

"Work or family?" usne phir pucha.

Ananya ne ab apna phone side mein rakha. "Work. Ek important presentation hai. Aap?"

"Same. Actually main apni company ka naya branch Delhi mein open kar raha hoon."

"Oh," Ananya ne reply kiya. "Kis field mein hain aap?"

"AI and sustainable technology. We're trying to bridge the gap between environmental conservation and technological advancement."

Ananya ki interest suddenly badh gayi. "That's... actually quite fascinating. Main bhi tech sector mein hoon, data analytics."

Conversation flow hone laga. Train Kolkata ki boundaries cross kar chuki thi, aur ab woh Bengal ke countryside mein thi. Moonlight mein fields chamak rahe the. Kahin door ek gaon ki lights dikhai de rahi thi.

"Waise, aap last train kyun le rahe hain?" Ananya ne pucha. "Most business travelers prefer morning flights."