I forgot my earphones at home and my manners did not allow me to play anything on the speaker
on public transport. I had already finished reading the book which I was
carrying, during the onward journey of the metro. It was more than an hour-long
journey and required two switches for my destination. I couldn't even doze off.
With the dying battery of my phone, I had no option but to notice my
surrounding. I took a good look at my fellow passengers, each one was either
engrossed reading something on their phones or staring into the blank with their
earphones on. I took a deep sigh. There weren't many people on board, so no
interesting conversation to sneak into. I chose to stare at the window opposite my seat. I could see the lights running outside as if racing with the
metro. After a while, I tried to focus on my reflection on the same glass
window. I laughed at the delusion which the lights inside the metro create. One
needs to shift focus to see what is outside or can use it as the mirror by obliviating
the lights outside.
I got tired of watching
the speeding lights, so I started focusing on my reflection. To keep myself
entertained I started making faces as if there was a kid sitting in front of
me. Since everyone else was engrossed in something, I thought nobody would notice
me doing that. But then, I heard a chuckle. A kid came and settled himself
right opposite to me and mimicked my actions. I was startled for a while and
waited for someone to come rushing and take that kid back, but nobody showed
up. When I started acting like an adult, the kid got bored with me and started
moving to the other chambers of the train. My curiosity didn't let me sit
either, thinking that the kid could be lost, I started following. The kid
turned back and noticed that I was following, he smiled and continued to lead
the way as if wanting me to follow. After crossing almost 3 coaches I lost him
in the crowd. There seemed to be a commotion in this coach, something was lying
on the ground and people had gathered around it. When I tried to peek in, it
was the same kid lying on the floor. His mother frantically crying for help. I
immediately sat down beside him and asked people around for the background.
Someone filled me in, that the kid suddenly started coughing and then
collapsed. Involuntarily my hands reached for his pulse and I found a candy
wrapper in his hand. "He must have choked", I blurted
instantaneously. He was losing his breath. I quickly checked, had anyone
called the ambulance. Since we were underground, hardly anyone had any signals.
I took out my water bottle and asked his mom to try to keep him conscious by
sprinkling some water and then picked him up, keeping his upper body tilted. I
didn't know what force was guiding me at that time but I remembered watching a
video where an upward pressure on the stomach came to the rescue in a similar
situation. An immediate first-aid was required to keep him breathing. I
replicated the action from the video. He reacted with a gasp and started
coughing. The candy was still blocking the breathing passage. Just then the
doors of the metro opened. I hang him on my shoulder. More than half of his
body tilting down and signalled his mother to follow. I became the human version
of the ambulance asking everyone to move out of my way. It was while taking the
stairs I heard a familiar weird sound and felt some hot liquid flowing down my
back and the candy falling down the steps like a ping pong ball. I held him in
normal position, his bloodshot eyes were blinking and he was breathing heavily.
The jam in his body was cleared. I hugged him carefully, not to disrupt his
breathing. He started crying seeing a stranger. So, I turned and handed him
over to his mom. Just like her son, she got another life. I arranged for a cab
for them and took leave. On my way back, I just kept wondering, when did he
find time to swallow that candy.
