Rajiv unfolded his ticket one last time. The pink copy was smeared, the ink had bled from the humidity, and the edges were soft from the sweat in his pocket. It was ruined. Useless.
The bus shuddered down the highway. Villages flashed by—Boria, Bagodara, Limbdi. Every few hours, the bus would lurch to a stop at a khedut tea stall. Passengers would get off, stretch, and check their tickets. They’d compare seat numbers. “Excuse me, Uncle, I think this is my seat?” “Oh, sorry, beta, I have 18, you have 17.” gsrtc ticket print
He should throw it away.
Rajiv paid and held the ticket up to the dusty window light. There was a smudge where the ink had been too wet, and a slight tear near the fold. To anyone else, it was trash. To him, it was a passport. Rajiv unfolded his ticket one last time
And it told of Rajiv’s own story. He was going home. Not to a house, but to the sea. Somnath. His father had passed away last month. The lawyer had said, "You need to sign the land papers in person." The ticket was a thread pulling him back to a childhood he had tried to leave behind. Useless
