As the light of dawn gradually breaks through the darkness of the night, the city's new day begins. That morning was just like that. But today was a little different from other days. Because today's morning seemed to be waiting for some strange event in its magical form.
As usual, the sun is slowly rising in the eastern sky. The birds are singing sweetly on the tree branches. Busy people are running on the streets. Some are going to office, some to school. Among them was Nandini, a young woman who had just passed out of university. He is about to start a new chapter of his life. Today was his first day at his new job.
Nandini's mind is a bit excited, a bit nervous. He was standing at the bus stand waiting for the bus. But as soon as the bus stopped, his mind became restless. There was a strange atmosphere inside the car, like a kind of suppressed discomfort. The passengers are all silent, as if no one dares to speak.
Nandini got into the car and sat on a seat. But he felt that someone was following him. He looked around to see an old man looking at him intently. The man had a strange mysterious look in his eyes. Nandini quickly averted her eyes, but her mind was not calming down.
The car started moving. Nandini kept looking at the old man. The man is sitting right in front of her, and his gaze doesn't move for a moment. Nandini panicked inside. He tried to shift a little in his seat, but even there the gaze was reaching him.
When the car reached its destination, Nandini hurriedly got off. She couldn't understand why the man was looking at her like that. He walked towards the office with some discomfort. But the old man did not follow him.
Nandini reached the office and started her work. New colleagues welcomed him. As the workload eased a bit, he started thinking about the bus incident. Nothing could erase the old man's image from his mind.
At lunch time one of his colleagues, Suman, saw him a bit worried and asked, “What happened? Why is your face so dirty? Did something happen on the first day?”
Nandini remained silent for a while. Then slowly told him the whole incident. Suman was silent for a while. Then he said, "Have you ever seen the man before?"
“No, never seen before. But there was something in her eyes that made me uncomfortable,” said Nandini.
Suman smiled and said, “Perhaps, the man knew you, that's why he looked at you like that. Or he may have found your match with someone you know. Don't worry about these little things."
Nandini was somewhat calmed by his words. He thought, maybe Suman was right. The man might have known him, so he looked like that. But he couldn't calm his mind completely.
At the end of the day, Nandini again went to the bus stand and stood. But before boarding the bus this time, a strange apprehension arose in his mind. He started thinking, will that man be seen again?
As he got into the car, his gaze went straight to the seat where the old man had sat that morning. The seat is empty today. Nandini felt some peace. He sat down on the seat fearlessly. The car left, and all the restlessness started to disappear from his mind one by one.
But suddenly the car came to a stop. Nandini's body shivered as she opened the door. The old man got into the car again. That same strange look in the man's eyes. Nandini's head spun, as if everything seemed like a blur.
Nandini did not know what to do. His heart rate quickened. The man is slowly approaching her. He said to himself, “If the man comes towards me now, I will say something. I will not be silent any longer.”
The man stood in front of him. Nandini dared to look up, but then the man gave a sweet smile and said, “Mom, you look just like my daughter. It's been many years, I haven't seen my daughter. You remind me a lot of him. So I was looking at you."
Tears came to Nandini's eyes. He understood why the man had that strange look in his eyes. It was the magical love of a lonely father who lost his daughter.
Nandini slowly sat next to the man and said, “Don't worry. I am, even if your daughter never comes, I am still. You can think of me as a girl.”
Tears came to the man's eyes. He said slowly, “Thank you mom. You gave me so much peace.”