Atomic Essay #8: The Lost Girl at Bettiah Station

I had just come to Bettiah station to go to Motihari. I was reading The Copywriter’s Handbook and was in formal dress: shirt, pants, and shoes. I bought a ₹20 lassi and was finding a place to sit when I saw a girl. To impress her, I sat beside her.

After that, I forgot all about it as I was reading the book. When I looked beside me after some time I didn’t see her beside me. She got a bit behind me.
When I saw her at first glance, I thought something was wrong with her. She had put her head on her knees. She was wearing round goggles, a T-shirt, no slippers or shoes. She was around the same age as of mine, 19 – 20. She also had no baggage with her. And she was looking sad. She was looking a bit Bengali with her attire.

So, after waiting for some time, I thought that I needed to help her out. I asked her out, sister-sister all good, she said yeah all good. But I knew that something was wrong with her.

I took out a page from my diary, wrote my cousin sister’s and my phone number, and gave it to her.
I told her, “You are not wearing shoes, are without baggage, and are also looking sad. I also told her that I too had run away from my house once, slept at a railway station, and ate in a gurdwara.
If you need any help, please call me or my sister.
If not, then thank you.

And I left her and got into my train.
After that, I got onto the train I called 139 to give a tip about that girl to help her out because this was the best thing I could do.
Someone did it for me, so, I wanted to do it for her. The officials came out looking for her but they couldn’t find her. I thought about her a lot. I thought that if I meet this girl when I get back and help her out, I will start believing in God. In my thoughts, she came back to meet me when everything got normal, we got married and lived a happy life.

I came back to bettiah the same day and I looked for her on both the platforms and all the waiting halls. She was nowhere to be found. I miss her.

I really hope she calls me someday down the line. If she does and we connect, I will definitely update it here. It will be a really great story.