The Railway Station Scene

THE RAILWAY STATION SCENE

EXT. RAILWAY STATION – DAY 9.30 AM

A Railway station in the Outskirts of a City. It isn’t typical. Not clichéd. No hullabaloo – just a few people moving around – sure about what they’re doing. We see two ladies, over at either sides of a Waiting bench – they aren’t talking. One is a Lady in her 60s. The other, a jovial teenager.

OLD LADY:

I’m waiting for my son’s deadbody.

The teenager turns around – surprised to be caught in conversation, offgaurd. She stops writing into notepad. She remains silent, listening.

OLD LADY:

I’ll have to be here.

Night, when the train comes … I’ll have to be here.

Her voice cracks.

TEENAGER:

Eh?

The OLD LADY looks down. Goes silent for a while.

A GROUP OF EUNUCHS appear from nowhere. The hullabaloo starts. Dancing. Singing.

THREE EUNUCHS come for the TEENAGER and demand money. The TEENAGER complies. THEY poke at the OLD LADY, before leaving.

The scene goes silent again. No BGM.

The OLD LADY looks up.

OLD LADY:

You see this wound?

BEAT.

She reveals a knife-wound on her midriff. The wound’s healed long ago. She turns defiant, as she speaks on.

All I did was ask him to stop drinking.

TEENAGER:

Mmm.

The OLD LADY looks at the TEENAGER. Their eyes cross.

OLD LADY:

He ran away 13 years ago.

BEAT.

The OLD LADY moves closer to the TEENAGER and holds her hand, that was on the bench.

The OLD LADY looks into the distance as she speaks.

…They hanged him yesterday.

TEENAGER:

Sad.

OLD LADY:

She looks away as she speaks.

Ravi, is a murderer.

A faraway train-whistle’s heard. We see the train in the distance rolling on. The train-sounds grow into a crescendo, augmenting into the situation. The train pulls over.

TEENAGER:

I need to go now. That’s my train. Sorry.

She clutches at her bags, to leave.

I’ll pray for your son.

The TEENAGER smiles as she walks away.

OLD LADY:

[Under her breath]

Pray for me. Not, for Ravi.

The Camera ZOOMS OUT.

The OLD LADY vaporizes into the Thought that she was. We see a lonely bench. A small breeze dusts out.

FADE OUT.