Walking in the Sweltering Heat
The sound of a notification dinged on my phone. I shifted my handbag to my left hand and opened my phone to see. My uber auto driver had canceled the ride.
I could feel my neck warming as a surprising amount of anger swelled up. I let out a huff and waited for the app to connect me to another driver. Mere minutes had passed, and I was already annoyed. I accidentally made eye contact with the security guard at the gate in front of my house and smiled at him awkwardly.
“C’mon, connect me to an auto already!”
I glanced at the time on the phone. It read 9:30 am. I had a meeting at 10:00 am. I slowly started walking to the main road, contemplating what I could do next. The heat was starting to get to me. I shoved my phone inside my bag and slid the hairband off of my wrist to tie my hair into a bun. Sweat was starting to form on my brows, at the back of my neck, above my lips, and down my cleavage. Yuck! This was not how I imagined my Monday morning would go. I scanned the road to see if I could spot any autos. No luck. I quickly decided to take the train to the office. It was just two stops away. Maybe, just maybe, I could make it in time for the meeting. I hurried my pace and started walking towards the train station.
“Why the hell do people park their cars wherever they want?”
I was tempted to kick the red sedan that was haphazardly parked in front of McD. It was half on the road and half inside the slot. I maneuvered around it, try to carefully avoid the vehicles hurrying by. By then, I felt like my face was melting from the sweltering heat. My t-shirt was damp, the cloth clinging to my back. My armpits were indefinitely sweating.
“Wait, do I have a deodorant in my bag?”
I tried to recollect. I remembered seeing a travel-sized bottle of mist. “God, I hope it is still there because I am starting to believe I can smell myself. Why is this man walking so close to me?”
I took a detour, sidestepping dog poop, and climbed up onto the sidewalk. Some shops were starting to open up, and workers in uniform could be spotted along the stretch that I was walking on. When I crossed Chennai Silks, the AC breeze passing through the half-opened shutter hit me, and I involuntarily paused. I slowed my pace, trying to angle my back to the cold. I was so desperate for some relief from the heat. By then, I had sweat dripping down my face. I had already swiped it off my face numerous times that I lost count. I know I had smudged my eyeliner a tad bit. The smudged streaks fount at the back of my hand were proof enough. However, I was too irritated to care. I glanced at the time again. 9:40 am. Fuck!
I was nearing the train station. If my calculations were right, a train will leave the station in another 3 minutes. I hurried my steps, shifting my handbag to my other shoulder. With each step I took, I felt like my bag was growing heavier. I rubbed my shoulder to ease some of the pain.
“Why are you in my way, doggo?”
“Fuck! I almost stepped on the dog.”
“Uncle, how the fuck are you smoking in this heat?”
“Ugh! Don’t blow smoke in my direction, you asshole!”
“I see the train. Oh yes, I see the train.”
I was just short of jogging. Amidst this chaos was when I remembered that I don’t have a ticket. I forgot to book via the app. I was nearing the entrance when the whistle was blown.
“No time. Oh my god!”
I let out a few colorful expletives that made the middle-aged woman passing by to look up.
“What do I do? What do I do?”
The crowd was starting to quicken the pace. The train was about to leave.
“No ticket today then.”
“Why was the ladies’ compartment so far away? Wait, is the train moving away?”
I got into the general compartment just to be on the safe side. And a few seconds later, the train started to move. And the next part of this ordeal commenced.
