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30 minutes

The train came to a halt with a jerk. I gripped the support railing for balance. So did the people around me. Something felt different. The people and the surrounding was new and strange. I felt as though I was transported magically to an alien land. The people around me was busy in their own world. Some in their thoughts and some in their phones. At every stop a war brewed between passengers fighting over to get down and trying to board the train.
I calmly stood there trying to understand the surroundings. Yet I could sense a Storm inside me. Like a programmed robot, I got down in a station. I stood there watching the train continue its journey. It was then I realised. Where the hell am I and who am I. I had no memory of both the things or anything for that matter. I sat in the nearest stone bench and tried to absorb the activity around me. I glanced at the phone and it read 9.00 pm. I tried to make a call and could not remember the pattern. The activity around me slowly became thinner and the night became darker. Everyone seemed like a villian. I did not even remember my name and would be clueless if someone asked for it. I realised I was carrying a blue bag. I rummaged and found a purse. I hoped it will carry some clue or identity of me to help me go home.
I had exactly 33 rupees and loads of faded papers. The ATM card in it read "Neha Agarwal". At last I have a name now. The station board said pallavaram . Was this my destination or did I get down in a strange place, I wondered. Everyone was looking at me in a weird way. I tried recalling the way to my house. I could not recall anything. O God I silently prayed. I did not even remember his name. Panic gripped me. I pictured myself sitting there for a lifetime. Would my life disintegrate into nothing. Will my parents forget me. Do I have a boyfriend or friends to care for me? Will people miss me? . million questions and doubts occupied my thought. I kept staring at my phone hoping someone would call me and rescue me from this wilderness. The clock ticked by. I tried a thousand patterns. My phone did not open nor did my memory. My stomach rumbled in protest. I dug through the bag again and found a few chocolates and stale biscuits. I just gobbled them. God knows when I will get my next meal. I might not ever. The clock showed 9.26 pm.  26 minutes of loneliness and despair. Still I could not remember anything. As the clock reached 9.30 pm, I got a call. I felt as if my prayers were answered. It was a new number.
I woke up with a fright and realised I did not put my phone in silent mode. I could hear my sister grumbling about the noise. I hastily cut the call and switched on the silent mode. The time read 3.42 am.

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