A stranger, a seat and a new perspective

It was the time when I boarded public transport from my native town to reach Chennai. I couldn’t find a seat on the bus, but a lady with her husband was willing to offer one. Having no other hope of finding another seat, I sat next to her. She seemed to be a woman in her 50s and her husband in his mid-50s too.

As per my usual habit, I plugged in my headphones and began listening to music. The divine flow of melodies filled my ears, until she suddenly interrupted it. I assumed she had something important to say.

But instead, she asked about my whereabouts... my native and the place I was traveling to. I answered a few of her questions but didn’t mention exactly where I was from. She seemed a bit of an extrovert, but I’m not.

The lady looked somewhat fat, but her husband was the complete opposite. I didn’t have even an inch of space to set myself free on that seat, so I stretched my hand out to hold onto the metal bar near me in order to maintain my posture. Then again, I took my headphones in hand, eager to lose myself in music.

After listening to a song for exactly 2 minutes and 57 seconds, she called me again. I paused the music, removed one of the headphones from one of my ears, and asked her why she called. She asked what school I was studying in.

Did she really think I was a school student?

I told her that I was studying in college. She asked about the location of my institution, and I revealed it because my college is quite a famous one in Chennai.

Then she asked about my family. I said there were five of us. With a surprised face, she said her family also had five members.. exactly the same sequence as mine: two daughters and a son. After that, she stopped asking about me and started talking about her own family.

She told me that her eldest daughter had also studied English Literature and is now a mom. She seemed to be quite strict, so strict that, according to her mother, there shouldn’t even be a single curry leaf left on the plate after eating. The lady described every teeny tiny detail about her family… and all the while, my hands were just waiting for a chance to put the headphones back in.

Then she said her second daughter was working abroad and had always dreamed of studying more. Her first daughter had the same dream too, but started working instead.

Finally, she introduced her youngest...her son.

She searched her bag for her phone to show me his photo. She explained both of her daughters’ lives with ease and excitement, but the way she looked while preparing to introduce her son… she seemed almost thrilled.

She described him in great detail and even started talking about the wealth they had accumulated. I genuinely thought it was a bit odd to share all that with a stranger. Still, I told myself not to overthink it, smiled politely, and nodded along as she kept talking.

Her son was in the second year of his master’s degree in engineering..I forgot which branch exactly. She described him in great detail, and strangely, she kept smiling at me the whole time.

After all the talk, which I had assumed was unnecessary, she asked me one final question that completely changed my perception of her:

“What are you going to do after your bachelor’s degree?”

I told her that I wished to pursue a master’s too, and I was also hoping to get another degree in Psychology.

She asked if I had plans to work abroad. I told her I couldn’t my parents wouldn’t even let me walk down the street alone.

That’s when she gave me a reply I never expected.

She said, “You have every right to achieve your goals, and no one has the right to stop you. A girl child must be educated. We cannot always depend on men for money..we shouldn’t have to live under them for our whole lives.”

Despite having a son, she said that girls should always strive to go beyond boys. She added that boys these days don’t study or work as hard as they used to in the past. To be honest, I had assumed that being a mother of a son, she might carry a bit of headweight. But she was different. From what I’ve seen, most mothers tend to prioritize their sons, supporting them in everything, often more than they do their daughters. So hearing those words from her was genuinely surprising. For a moment, I even felt like… “Yeah, I want to be a mom like her someday.”

That point struck me deep...like a nail being hammered into my thoughts.

All this time, I had thought the conversation was boring and unnecessary. But in that moment, I realized it was worth talking to her. Her words made my confidence soar into the clouds. Though I couldn’t thank her aloud, I truly did in my heart.

As soon as our conversation ended, she dozed off..and finally, my hands found the perfect moment to bring the headphones back. I played the song that matched my mood, and slowly, sleep began to overtake me…

Maybe the seat beside her was meant for me.

Maybe it was destiny’s way of changing my perspective.