(Disclaimer:- I would like to request you to read the first part of this story “ Aunty Jee from Safa Tempo”, to have a clearer picture of the story I am telling here. If you have read it earlier then Enjoy!!)

Every beginning is a beginning of some end and every end has a beginning. A story will always have a sequel and a prequel which is hidden behind the curtains.

Moving out from the place where you have lived most of your life is a big decision for anyone. It actually scares a lot of us, especially when you live in an area where everything is available at an arm’s distance. I moved from such commercial place to a complete residential area. Wondering how I am feeling? Guess what, for me it looks like a resort and I am vacationing each day. I have big arse windows in two sides of the room and I get brightness by past 4:30 in the morning. From 3 in the evening I might have to use sunglasses inside my room coz my room is west facing. I feel fresh and it has been a big change for me.

Yea access to things is a big distance I agree. I have to walk 15 plus minutes to get a fresh loaf of bread ( I am very particular about the bread, I need it fresh and I need that smell of bread…lol….if you know what I mean) and a good cup of barista coffee is a good bus ride. Luckily my office is 30 minutes walk from home and I love the strolling I do. Sometimes I feel a bit lazy so I take a safa tempo which runs in this route. THANK GOD!!! ( taxis are so expensive for no reason and I really don’t want butterflies coming out of my pocket by mid of the month).

Contrary to most of the people who have a busy Monday, I have a busy weekend and easy Monday. It was about to rain in the afternoon so I asked my boss if I can go home and work from there and enjoy the rain. So, I walked out and hopped on a safa tempo. After 100 meters the tempo stopped again. An aunty jee closed her umbrella and hurriedly got inside and VOILA! Who do I meet, the same aunty from my other route. Our eyes meet and we both didn’t know what to do so we gave an awkward smile.

Looks like she has put on some weight and she looks a bit darker than usual, guess it’s the weather and the scorching sun we are having for past couple of weeks in Kathmandu. Unexpectedly she asked me,”Bahini ko office etai ho?”. I didn’t expect her to ask me that so unsure of what to reply I said,” office ni yetai ghar ni yetai ho aaba”.

She smiled and said “ eeeehhhh!! Tesaile katti bho uta ko route ma na dekheko” and then she gave me a big smile. My moment of shock was that she noticed me all this while and I thought I was the only one. And now it was my turn to ask, “ ani hajur chahi eta tira kasari aaja?”. I was trying hard be polite and not nosy.“Ma company ko payment lina aayeko thiye, accountant chutti ma cha tesaile ma aaunu paryo”, and again she smiled. I smiled back.

And in this conversation I missed out the first turning that goes to my tole. The second stop is just 30 seconds from there. I was preparing myself to get off. I took out my fare, crunched it in palm, took out my umbrella and “Dhang Dhang!!” I hit on the roof to stop the tempo ( don’t you think it’s the best part of the ride in a safa tempo that you might need to hurt your knuckles to stop it).

“Huss, janchu hai”, I actually felt a bit of a pinch in my heart when I said it. She waved and replied “ feri bhetaula ni, byee”. Oh! How positive she was to meet me again. I really don’t know if we will come across each other in the future but I am glad we had this conversation today. Life gives you what you want when you believe in it, when I wrote the first part of the story I had a regret that I never started a conversation with her. Now I wont die with that regret anymore.