The Food That Never Rots

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Hello Readers! It has been years since I had posted anything new but I am back 😊 Hope you like this one which is inspired by one of my most favorite anime movie 

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I find myself all alone at an abandoned railway station. It's humid and sunny. I check what I am wearing… strange… I do not remember buying this dress. I also have a handbag which is definitely mine — I can see the burn mark near the left handle from many years ago. However, my handbag doesn't carry a thing. I check my surroundings; the giant clock perched atop a pole is not moving. I look at the newspaper lying abandoned on a bench and see no dates on it. I peer into the shops and find all the merchandise intact, but no people. My footsteps echo as I walk further and check the offices and ticketing counters… again, no one. It is then that my perplexed self notices the train standing silent on the nearest platform. I keep my distance from it, for I feel more scared of the train than this ghostly station, for reasons I do not yet know.

I keep walking parallel to the train, past bogie after bogie, all identical. There are no signs of life, but I smell food even before I see any. I move a little closer to the train and check the compartments. They are loaded with luggage and the kind of food one would usually carry on a train journey. I also notice that though the train itself has an abandoned quality, the food looks fresh! And it smells divine… hot bakery bread with steam rising, but too much of it; fresh ghee on hot chapati, but the chapati doesn't look crumpled; freshly cut mangoes with no flies around them.

Saliva pools in my mouth as I take in these enticing aromas. I don't remember when I last ate, and the smell is driving me crazy, but something holds me back from approaching the train. A sixth sense, maybe? Or my overthinking? Whatever it is, I stay where I am.

Exhausted, I walk towards a bench under the shade of a tree. I hear a dripping sound and spot a tap next to it. I drink until the water sates my hunger, for now. The shade from the afternoon sun lulls me to sleep. I don't know how long I sleep… but when I wake, it's morning, and my hunger has returned with a vengeance.

I slowly sit on the bench. I notice my muscles don't feel stiff or sore, which is strange given that I was sleeping on a rock bench. I carefully scan the station again and notice no change from the day before. My hunger reigns supreme, and before I have thought about it, I am already next to the train. The same food from yesterday sits fresh and tempting. Today the smells assault me to the point I cannot bear it, and I have almost set my foot on the train steps when I notice it. A sound. A bell ringing rhythmically. I step away from the train and squint at the end of the platform.

I see an old woman squatting there with a bell in her hand and some wares spread in front of her. I am so relieved to find someone else that I sprint towards her. I make it halfway and almost faint with exhaustion.

I stop, take some deep breaths, and continue at a much slower pace. I reach her, and before I can say anything, she says, "So? You want to go back? Hmm… I see." This response has me confused. She chuckles and says, "I thought you would be tempted to take the easy path, like so many others before you — but I am glad to see I was mistaken. That doesn't happen often, my dear."

She spoke a lot, but I understood none of it. I ask her, "What is it about the train that scares me so?" She looks at me for a long time before turning to look at the train. "It is a one-way journey that many gladly take." She then looks back to me and waves a finger, stating, "but you are not ready yet."

Still smiling, she hands me a fruit. I say fruit because I have never seen any like this before. I hesitate, but hunger wins. I grab it and shove it into my mouth, and it's gone. It's a taste I cannot describe — sweet, juicy with a slight tang and a whole new taste I have no name for. It is delicious beyond compare. As I try to get another, she refuses, saying, "Oh no! One is what you need, and what you shall receive. Cannot have you imbalance the cosmos now."

I still do not understand what she said, but I am being lulled to sleep. Was the fruit drugged? Or worse, poisoned? Before I can panic, I am down under.

I am only my thoughts. I cannot feel pain, hunger, or fear. I cannot see, feel, or hear anything. Total sensory deprivation. I am alive only in my thoughts. My thoughts are all over — I am jumping from one thought to another and am a mess. I try to rein in my feelings by meditating. Time goes by, and my mind is now a ripple-less pool. I am still not fully awake, but I can hear a beeping coming from my right. I smell a strong odour… familiar but I cannot name it. I see a light being shined into my face and someone calling out my name. I slowly open my eyes and see a person I do not know give me a relieved smile.