The 6 am light hit hard on Isabella, who was fast asleep on the lower berth. As she rose from her bed, she saw a magnificent and breathtaking scene outside the train window.
Huge paddy fields that seemed to stretch endlessly, giving a picturesque view of the outskirts of West Bengal as the train kept its pace.
"Beautiful, isn't it? worth waking up for." Aaron spoke from the upper berth across Isabella's.
"Yes, I was just thinking of the times I took the trains back home, and those were good and calm, but this is something completely different… unique and beautiful in its own right" Isabella had a soft, gentle smile as she stared through the window.
As she stared through the window, knocking came from their cabin door.
"Morning chai, want some ?" The workers are shouting.
Before Isbaella could reply… "Doo chai bhaiya", Aaron spoke.
"I thought you might want some company…" Aaron gave a half-dazed smile.
Isabella said nothing, just gestured at Aaron to come and sit by her side.
The worker came and poured two steaming hot chai and left. As the two sat with their chai, a thought crossed Isabella's mind.
"I am so happy I chose to come to India", Isabella said without looking away from the window.
"Like I have been on trains for long trips, but never have I experienced something like this, like eating meals here in the cabin on your beds, drinking tea in the morning like this or even playing cards just to pass the time… All these have been incredible experiences for me," She looked at Aaron with a softness which was accentuated by the morning sun, "And it's all thanks to you, for making us feel at home"
Aaron, completely flustered, trying to hide his face, said, "You know it goes both ways, it's because you came into our lives that it changed for us, we finally broke from that monotonous life"
Isabella, after listening to this, gently laid her head on his shoulder, "Well, it seems we both made each other's lives interesting"
"Couldn't agree more", Aaron replied with a soft smile and proceeded to lay his head on her head.
"Come on, guys, get a room, being so lovey dovey from the morning", Ishaan said in a taunting voice.
Both Isabella and Aaron were caught completely off guard, and they panicked, completely flustered.
"WHAT THE HELL SINCE WHEN ARE YOU UP ??" Aaron, shouting at Ishaan, was completely flustered.
"Ohhhh!! Since you said 'doo chai', well, I must say good job, bro," Ishaan grinned.
As the chaos continued, Estella woke up with the worst case of bed hair, " Why are you guys shouting at 7 am, it's too early for all this", she said in the most sleepy voice ever.
"Ohhh man… Est, you just missed the best romcom scene" Ishaan got down just to tell her about the events before Aaron quite literally bearhugged him to leave him to tell what transpired.
And just like that, cabin 1 began its morning chaos.
It was almost afternoon before the speaker shouted.
"Now reaching Sealdha Station platform no2"
As the train proceeded to stop at the station, the girls were met with a whole new environment.
The station was packed with people; it was so densely packed that it was nearly impossible to even see the platform.
"Holy shit… What is this??" Estella shouted, seeing such a huge crowd
"Dear, welcome to Kolkata and everyone you see here is most likely here for the same reason as we are, though… I have to let you know this is actually a fairly small crowd," Mrs Banerjee smirked.
"Oh, you should see how crowded it gets just a few days before the actual festivities", Mr Banerjee proudly boasted, his chest.
Estella and Isabella were shocked by their statements, "THIS PLACE GETS EVEN MORE CROWDED?!?" They both shrieked in unison.
Aaron and Ishaan couldn't contain their laughter anymore.
"Ohhh man, it was so worth it not telling them about this, those reactions are priceless", Ishaan laughed his guts out.
"Couldn't agree more", Aaron gently laughed.
'Well.. Well.. It seems some of you are enjoying yourselves," A voice came from outside the cabin door.
As the door opened, a man of average height who looked like he could be in his early 40s came through.
"KAKA !!!!!" Ishaan jumped straight into his arms.
"BA!! Ishaan, you sure have grown quite tall, haven't you?" Kaka smiled as he patted his head.
"And Aaron, the same as always, I see", looking at Aaron with a satisfied smile.
"Well, I am who I am" Aaron stood up and gave a huge hug. "Good to see you"
"Chol, before it gets too crowded", Mr Banerjee patted on Kaka's back.
"Ya, we will, but will you not introduce me to the two lovely ladies who chose my boys?" Kaka spoke out.
"Oh, ha, well this is Isabella, and this is Estella, and the rest you know, na" Mr Banerjee introduced the girls most nonchalantly, and the girls just followed through.
"Dada, always in a hurry hai?" he was taunting Mr Banerjee, "Nevertheless, girls nice to meet you, my name is Sanjay Banerjee, Akhiles's brother", pointing out to Mr Banerjee.
"It's nice to meet you, sir" Both in union bowed.
"Ohhh, come, no need to call me sir, just call me kaka too after all these two gadha's call me that", he pointed out to Aaron and Ishaan.
And just like that, the crew got down and navigated through the station only to see the crowded street of Kolkata.
The city hit them all at once — not gradually, not politely. The noise first, then the smell of fish and marigolds and diesel all layered together, then the sheer press of people moving in every direction with the absolute confidence of a crowd that had been doing this for centuries and had no intention of slowing down for anyone.
Estella stopped walking for a full second.
"Is it always like this?"
"Festival season," Kaka said cheerfully, already moving. "This is calm."
"He keeps saying that," she said to Ishaan.
"He means it," Ishaan said, pulling her forward by the sleeve before a porter nearly walked through her.
Kaka moved through the crowd the way the boys moved — without fighting it, just finding the gaps. He had already picked up one of the heavier bags without announcing it and was talking to Mr Banerjee over his shoulder about something in rapid Bengali that the girls couldn't follow at all.
Isabella stayed close to Aaron, not from nerves exactly, but from the simple practicality of not losing him in the crowd. His hand found her elbow once when a cycle rickshaw cut too close — steady, brief, gone before she could think about it.
Outside the station, the city opened up. Old buildings with peeling paint and iron grilles on the windows—a tea stall with a crowd three deep. Somewhere nearby, the first distant beat of a dhak drum — low and rolling, felt more than heard.
Estella heard it and stopped talking mid-sentence.
Ishaan watched her face.
"That's the dhak," he said.
She didn't answer. Just listened for a moment, the crowd moving around her, the drum somewhere in the distance.
"Puja's started," Kaka said simply, from up ahead. "Kolkata's awake."