#30DaysToThirty: KIA 7A

Sometimes, we just meet random people and click with them. Last Tuesday I flew back to Bangalore from Mumbai and took a bus to get back home.

Confession: I am one of those pampered people whose dad usually books a taxi ride for her. 

This time I decided to take the bus. I know that there are airport buses that stop pretty close by my place. I had had a terrible flight. The back row was filled with kids. Noisy pain-in-the-ass kids. I wanted to gag them and make them sit down. I mean do they not understand the point of wearing a seat belt. Actually I blame their parents. But anyway...

The flight was also smelly and.. you get the point. I was in a bad mood by the time I got off and I could not wait to get home.

To add to my bad mood, the restrooms were all being cleaned. The airport has two restrooms and both of them were being cleaned. AT THE SAME TIME. Where is a woman supposed to empty her bladder?? 

Anyway after a bit of hunting, I found another restroom tucked away in a far corner. Peace at last.

I went out, picked up a Sub for dinner and went to the bus stop. For some reason when I reached the bus stop I was so tired that I pretty much that got into the first bus that went towards my area. This whole while my parents took it in turns to keep whatsapping me and asking whether I got a bus, what the bus number was, whether I bought a ticket etc etc. Then when I told them the bus number, whatsapp messages stopped and I got a phone call. 

"Why did you get on this bus? I thought you knew the bus numbers to take. This stops too far away. How will you get home?" My father's voice sounded panicky on the other end. At this point I kind of lost it and told my parents to chill and let me make my own mistakes. Truth be told I was damn annoyed with myself for getting on a bus that didn't reach exactly where I wanted it to and I was tired and grumpy and well my parents were being a bit too protective. I was back on home ground. I could handle this. I finished the phone call and bought the ticket.

The girl in the seat next to me asked me in a concerned tone. "are you new to Bangalore?"

I am pretty sure I grunted instead of replying. But that was the start of a one and half hour long conversation. We talked about annoying kids on the flight, and painful co passengers who believe that the aisle is their private walking path. We talked about protective parents and younger siblings. We pondered on the idea that though we loved having people around, at some point we had started to enjoy being alone. We both hated routine 9-5 jobs and had grown up in Bangalore all our lives. 

It was the best one and half hours ever. We talked without asking each other's name till we had to get off. We didn't exchange numbers or even last names. 

Strangers on a bus. That's all we were. 

Krupa