Waiting for a call that will not come (Part 3)

When his eyes opened, it was broad daylight. The bus was entering a town, the name of which he could not read as he did not know the local language. Soon, the bus reached a bus-station, and almost everybody got down along with their luggage. Figuring out that this must be his destination too, he stepped out of the bus. After inquiring at the Inquiry office, he realized that he has to take one more bus to complete his journey.He called his sister, and updated her about his status.

Then he stared at the phone for many minutes. Will his friend call now? He considered calling his friend, but then decided not to. Since it was a Sunday, his friend might get up late. He did not want to disturb him. Still his mind remained clouded with his thoughts. Will he call, and ask him where had he reached? Did he eat something? Did he face any problem in a place where he did not know the language?

‘He will call. Just wait.’ He said to himself.

He sat in the bus that will take him to Tirumala. As the bus began the climb, he was reminded of his previous visit to a hill station. He looked out of the window. The city of Tirupati was spread out on the plain below the hill. It was a beautiful sight.

He reached the Tirumala town at 9:30 am. His sister was to arrive two hours later, and he had that much time to kill. The first task was to find a place to have breakfast. He found a public tap where he brushed his teeth & washed his face. Then, he located a small shop and ordered flavoured milk & bread. The taste of the milk was foreign to him, and ended up spoiling the taste in his mouth.

‘When he calls me, I will remember to tell him that flavoured milk here is not good’, he made a mental note.

He spent rest of the waiting time, praying to God, and watching the children of the pilgrims around him. They were running around the place, trying to catch each other. And then their mother will shout at them to come back to her. They will come back reluctantly, only to run away once her focus shifted to something else.

Soon his sister arrived, and he joined her. And for the first time, he forgot about the call.