On a heat wave day in California @ July 6 2001, I board Amtrak train from San Jose` to Los Angeles with my parents. This train had 2 types of cars. One car had an ordinary seating while the other with scenic beauty of the Pacific Ocean. Moreover, it was a double decker train where downstair was pantry, handicapped and exit whereas upstairs was where all the seating was. In certain cars, there were beds too. The day was scorching hot and smokers who dared to get off train to smoke quickly gave up the idea and ran back in.
I tried to find the place to sit and there was just one good open spot next to this cute girl. I requested if I could take seat next to her as she was sitting alone. She replied "why not"?
I was carrying old Walkman with cassette tape and it was apparently outdated in USA and they had moved on to Discmans. It was foreign UFO device for the girl. I was playing Bollywood 60s music on it. She initiated the conversation about wanting to check out device and what I was listening to and she found it cool. She flashes smile for first time and has huge smile with braces on. She looked elder than her age of 13. She introduces herself as Sara. However she was dressed shabbily in old rag which I pulled her leg for but not too much.
Sara was there with her family that consisted of Parents and younger brother. Her parents were seated little away but definitely in clear line of sight. On another bench there is another guy of our age who looked like a character from Road Rash. I said hi to him and invited him over. He introduced himself as Jason.
I had a very bad English and girl had a hard time understanding me as I couldn't form proper sentences. I would use "know" and "no" interchangeably. Both of them found me amusing and cool. I started giving them encyclopaedic worth knowledge about India and the exotic land far beyond. Both had never stepped out of USA ever so it was all foreign for them. We chatted for half an hour until her brother comes in to bully her sister. As stupid white knight who decided to act as her savior against her own brother from bullying her, I ask brother to squeeze my hand tightly and he couldn't do anything. I returned the favor. I was too strong for the brother. Jason asks me how I did it and I showed him how to squeeze at knuckles and not the palms.
As I am thinking back, I can put a tune of Chicago boys - Glory of Love in background. My mother came to check up on me. There was a funny goof up on my mother part when both explained to her that I was a cool dude. My mom English is far more terrible than mine and didn't know the meaning of cool. She corrected them that I was angry young man and not so cool guy.
I conversed with her mom while her dad decided to ignore me. However mother was very curious and kept asking questions. After a while her father had enough and decided to take mother away for drinks.
Being a nerdy geek, I asked Sara to join me at lower deck and took her hand and took her downstairs. I definitely didn't know that interlocking fingers is a romantic gesture but Sara was definitely blushing. We crawl downstairs to the pantry car and there is a public phone. Being a phreaker - I showed her how to make a free phone calls on that device.
Pantry lady who was serving was surely in her 80s with wrinkled face. I asked Sara to wish the lady and she made a face. I had a good banter session with the old lady. She thought I was Spanish and I gave her a scowl "NO!" I am Indian from the land of Taj mahal.
I asked for a soft drink can but found it too warm. She gave me bottle and I said it was on the house. HAHA! I didn't even know what that meant. She felt I was like her grandson and handed 2 bottles free with ice and glass. DAMN! FREE! I spoke to her for a while Sara left. She came out from behind the table and gave me big hug. How generous of her?
I went back and sat alone while Sara was gone. She crept back out of nowhere with a camera. SNAP SNAP! We chatted for a while and exchanged info. After a while I did something I had never done before, I hugged the girl tight and kissed her. I was scared she would be offended but rather she smiled and left in hurry. She said she had to leave with her parents. Her mother already had started to give me evil looks. I went downstairs and shared the story with Old pantry lady and she thought it was cutest story she had heard in a while and gave me a hug again. Jason was cool but Sara petrified him. He left me after a good hug bye.
For a year, Sara and I remain in touch via MSN and she kept horrifying me with crazy stories and I would advise her and act protective for her. She told me about how she has crush on a drug dealer. But it wasn't meant to be. I felt she was stumbling on to the dark side. She cut off all our ties and went away. I feared the worst if she hasn't gone really dark or died as I couldn't find her for 5 years of sporadically searching for her on Facebook. We met before Google, Facebook or any other social networking tool ever happened. It was time of dial up internet with basic web pages.
