But the truth was that night wasn't the end of my life. It was the beginning of a mystery connected not only to me, but also to my past and my ancestors. At the time, I had no idea that the family I'd mistaken for ordinary travelers would become the greatest puzzle of my life.
The mystery of that night was still waiting to be revealed... This was only the first glimpse. The real story was yet to come.
Part Two: Ludhiana or Hisar—Beyond Understanding.
When I reached Ludhiana and got off the train, I booked an auto-rickshaw and asked the driver to take me to some luxurious, high-end hotel.
A little while later, the auto-rickshaw stopped in front of a lavish hotel. Its name was Kohinoor Palace. From the outside, the hotel looked incredibly grand. I went inside, booked a room, and was given room number 753.
I reached my room, set my luggage aside, and lay down on the bed. The train journey that night had completely exhausted me. I had no idea when I fell asleep.
But when I opened my eyes, I was terrified. I wasn't in a hotel room. I was in my own house.
And the most astonishing thing was that I was asleep on my own bed, in my own room.
For a few moments, I sat perfectly still and looked around me. Everything was exactly as it always was in my house. I couldn't understand how I'd suddenly gotten from room number 753 at Kohinoor Palace in Ludhiana to my own home.
I thought maybe I'd had some kind of dream during the night. But then my eyes fell on my clothes. They were the same clothes I'd been wearing when I set out for Ludhiana. The things packed in my bag were there too.
I became even more confused. When morning came, I got ready and left the house. But the moment I stepped outside, the ground seemed to drop out from under my feet.
I was in the exact same situation again. I was traveling alone to Ludhiana on the train. Winter had only just begun, and it was around ten o'clock at night. The fog was slowly getting thicker. Within a short time, it became so dense that it was almost impossible to see anything outside the train.
I couldn't understand what was happening. Was I really going to Ludhiana? Had everything that happened the night before been nothing but a dream? If it had been a dream, then why were the same creases still visible on my clothes? Why was the same luggage still in my bag?
And the biggest question of all— How had I left my house and ended up back on that same train? The express trains had been canceled because of the dense fog, and only the passenger train was running—the one that traveled through the night and reached Ludhiana sometime between four and five in the morning.
I tried to look out the window, but all I could see outside was fog—nothing but fog. Once again, I hadn't been able to get a reservation on the express train, so I had to travel in the general coach.
Whether I called it God's mercy or blamed it on winter, there were very few passengers in the general coach again that day. A strange uneasiness filled me. I felt as if I'd lived through this journey before.
But when? Where? And why? I had no answers to any of those questions.
As I sat on the train, I kept checking my watch. I was beginning to fear that the same things that had happened the night before might happen again. And then...
At around twelve-thirty that night, the train reached Jakhal Station. The train usually stopped there for about fifteen or sixteen minutes. That night too, it came to a stop for fifteen minutes. My hands and feet began to turn cold.
Because suddenly, I remembered everything. Tea... Biscuits... An empty coach... Dense fog... A deserted station... And that mysterious family... I saw it all unfold before me. The passengers sitting in the coach began getting off one by one. It was as if a voice spoke from somewhere inside me— “Don't get off this time...” I sat frozen in my seat.
But just then, my eyes fell on the coach door. Someone was standing there. His silhouette was impossible to make out clearly through the fog. He was slowly moving toward me.
And the closer he came, the more I felt that I recognized him. But I couldn't identify him. He stopped in front of me.
For a few moments, he silently stared at me. Then he said in a very quiet voice— “You forgot again this time?” I asked in a trembling voice— “What did I forget?”
Looking into my eyes, he said— “This isn't your first time going to Ludhiana...” With that, he vanished into the fog.
At that very moment, the train blew its whistle. It felt as if electricity shot through my body. Because I had realized that this journey hadn't started over. Perhaps this journey had never ended at all.
To be continued...