Looks

Looks – Ashwin Muralidharan

Ganesh was staring at his mirror. His baldhead, acne covered cheeks, shapeless nose, big red lips, elephant ears, swollen eyes and long throat was a complete mismatch. There was nothing sharp about his features. There was nothing sharp about his life too.

“I wish I was a girl” – He said to himself.

He ignored them and rushed to board the 9:10 train at Chakala, Metro station. As usual, he sat at the window seat and started observing colours, which came alive at every stop.

Suddenly, an unusual dejavu ran across his bones. He saw a young woman who sat across his seat. Something was so familiar about her. The smell, the smile and the short hair, everything was in sync with his actions.

Who was she?

Where is she from?

Why is she here?

He kept staring at her, till the point where the women became uncomfortable and started hiding her face behind a book.

Ganesh could not handle his curiosity. He tried to start a conversation with her. Unfortunately the train stopped and she left. Everyday Ganesh had travelled through the same train and same station. He never felt this feeling before.

It was 5 pm.

He came back to his home, tossed his bag and stared at his mirror again. Now he could see a different version of himself. His cheeks were soft, his lips were rose, and he felt a dense flow of short hair on his baldhead. He pressed his palms on his chest and hip. It was different.

The hangover of the dejavu lingered longer than he thought.  He washed his face and looked into the mirror again. The same mismatch appeared back.

Hundreds of why’s popped into his brain?

Next day at the same time, he went to the same station to find the young woman. He sat at the same window seat and started observing everything. This time, there was no one. He could not control his anticipation. He stood and sat on the seat across his box. The smell, smile and short hair, everything made sense now. He got a glimpse of his past life. What he saw was a version of himself in his previous birth.

The train stopped. Ganesh came out and observed his reflection on the train glass. He let out a subtle smile and left.

He liked his looks now.