The Hijli Station

When one takes the obvious route,
One doesn't reach Hijli.
The railway crossing conceals,
Where the road takes a narrow turn.

It smelled foul to go to Hijli.
It did not promise anything.
Yet we went.
We went because it made us feel we were free.

The railway tracks followed us,
Some goods train haunted us.
Yet we went.
We went as there was no place else.

Few houses had cropped up,
Around the serene station.
Fewer people waited in the platform,
A handful of trains would stop.
But we went,
We were not planning to go anywhere.

The over-bridge hung ominously over the platform,
Bridged middle earth to heaven up above,
Not the two sides of the station for sure.
We knew better.

As we stood there and looked at a distance,
Nothing could be seen,
A mild breeze blew,
Like God telling us,
He was watching.
Was He?

A goods train made creaking noise,
In an attempt to leave Hijli.
But much like us, it succumbed.
The lights were red everywhere.

The Insti tower could be seen,
Standing tall amidst all confusion.
Concrete structures don't lie.
But do they stand the test of time?

I rested on the metal frame,
I was restless and young,
But that was all that I had.
The lights went green,
Even the goods train left.

It was quite late,
But we still stayed.
We half-understood the plot!
Time moved on mercilessly.

The houses were lit up every night,
Seemed like garlands of stars,
Plucked from happy galaxies.
Not quite what awaited us back.

But at least when we left,
We knew Hijli stood there.
It waited there, motionless.
Heavy but weary, we left.

Hijli remained alarmingly close,
To all the disgust.
Without getting tainted itself.
Or was it just us?

Only love could be so dreamy.
Only belief could be so amazing.
It stood there motionless.
Lights went from red to green.