A Stranger

It was half past eight.  It had rained a lot that evening, and I had walked some twenty odd minutes to the railway station. The thought that I would take another two hours to reach home played on my mind. I was a bit drenched and more lost. 

That is when i heard someone ask me, "What's the meaning of stranger?" Startled, I was at loss to give an answer. Unable to understand why an unknown someone - a stranger himself - ask this question, I scratched my mind to recollect the Hindi synonym of stranger. 

And them it dawned on me, like a comet whizzing past on a dark night. And I blabbered  "Ajnabi".

He understood what I said. I thought this would be the last of the random interaction. 

Out popped another question, whats the meaning of eager. He said :- E for eagr. The missing "e" stood out.

By now I was nervous, unable to judge his intent. I started thinking of the answer, backed by long strides. He kept pace with me. And as if to give me the context, he told that someone had asked him, "Are you eager to be friends with a stranger?" 

Amazed by the question. I replied. "Strong Icha. Wish. Means eager."

And that was the last I heard of him. With a sparkle in his eyes, the stranger walked away. 

He must have been lost in the thoughts of his stranger who had asked him the question that possessed his mind. 

And isn't it strange that a stranger possibly shed light on a question that would bond him with his stranger?

A Stranger