First Encounter

- „S9 nach Hanau Hauptbahnhof, Abfahrt 5 Uhr 37, heute circa 10 Minuten später. Grund dafür ist eine Weichenstörung. Wir bitten um Entschuldigung.“

The uncaring AI voice is reaching me through the music of my headset and I sigh. My German is still in its beginning stages, but I know the meaning of these words. I stomp my feet on the ground, holding back from jumping up and down to warm up a bit. Then I look around. There are only a few people on the platform. Despite the proclaimed German efficiency, they’re not a folk of early risers. At least not in the small town I’m living in.

A few men in boilersuits are standing together. There is a faint smell of cigarette smoke in the air. A few steps next to me is a woman, wearing an unusual pink winter coat, mismatched with an orange hat covering her red hair. Just like me, she is stomping her feet, which are tucked into purple knee-high boots. Tiny splashes of melting snow reach me, and I further the distance between us. Her lips are moving and her eyes are staring into the empty track bed in front of us.

I push my headphones to cover my ears completely again. Skipping a few songs because in the morning you don’t need Maaya Sakamoto to make you sleepy again. Instead, I let my friends the Creepy Nuts keep me awake until the train finally arrives. Another sigh escapes me when I finally board the train.

The doors close behind me and there is nobody in my cart. Except for the colorful woman who has gotten on the train at the doors next to mine. For a moment I’m feeling elated. While scanning the different seats next to my entrance, the train departs. A small jolt makes me take a step back, but I’m already too experienced to completely lose my balance. As I grab the handle to steady myself, I see the colorful lady struggle, her lips continuously moving.

Ugh, she’s one of those people. Better look for somewhere else to sit.

I turn around to walk in the other direction of the cart, when a smell hits me. Immediately, I pull my scarf over my mouth and nose. Still, my stomach is revolting. The urge to share my breakfast with the floor of the train cart is overwhelming. Quickly, my eyes look for the source.

Then I can make it out. The source of the smell. There is an oddly shaped heap of clothes three seats down from where I’m standing. Around it are three huge plastic bags stuffed to the brink, secured with the straps knotted on top. The insides want to spill nevertheless. Next to the bags there is a small shopping trolley. There is a cage on top of it. Something furry is moving inside.

No wonder, nobody is in this cart.

Somehow, by seeing the origin of the smell, it gets stronger. Breathing in my own coffee morning breath under the scarf still seems like a better choice.

I’ll just change carts at the next station. It’s only three minutes. I’ll survive.

With this thought I turn around. It will be better to stay near the door where I got on the train.

- “Ah! Oh!”

“Ouch!”

There is a scuffle and then a sudden jerk forward. My hands try to find a handle to grab onto. But there is only air. Then I fall. I hit the ground. I wait for the pain. But strangely it doesn’t hurt that much at all.

- “Uhm, Entschuldigung?”

The voice reaching me through the shouting voices of Yaksa is slightly shrill. Confused, I look at a heap of red, and scramble to my feet. First, I’m scared that I might fall immediately due to the train’s momentum. But the train is not moving. Quickly I push my headset off one of my ears. Embarrassment heats my face. Most probably my face can compete with the woman’s coat by now.

“Entschuldigung.”

This is one of the few German words, which can exit my mouth without a problem. I’m actually quite proud that I didn’t switch to English immediately. I offer a hand to the woman, who had softened my landing. There is a short hesitation. But in the end, she accepts my outstretched hand.

“Ah, ist … Ihnen … okay?”

The woman frowns. Then her hand – she is even wearing rosé gloves – disappears under her now even messier curly red hair. Confused I follow her movements but then I see two white knobs disappearing in her coat pockets.

- “Wie bitte?”

Uh, I have to say it again? I’ll do better this time.

“Seid Sie gut?”

This makes the woman grin for a second and then she nods. I feel relief wash over me and the pride of being able to handle this situation in German makes my head spin a bit. Feeling slightly lightheaded I try again to add to my success.

“Sie sitzen? Dein Knie und … dein Knopf …“

Ah, no.

The words are all gone. Knee is easy to remember. It sounds the same as in English. Just the German spelling is off. But head. What was it again?

- “Thank you. I’m fine. But we shouldn’t go in this direction. It’s quite … hm … It doesn’t smell so nice over there.”

The floaty feeling of success is gone. Instead, I feel the dreadful reality bringing me down to earth. Unlike me, she only has a slight accent, reminding me of my German teacher. So, she isn’t a native speaker but it’s just easy enough for her to switch and act naturally. Disappointment and envy fight a fierce battle in my chest.

The woman wants to head towards the other end of the cart.

No, don’t go there!

My hand works faster than my brain, grabbing her upper arm. Immediately she jerks back, wriggling her arm. I let go. She takes half a step back, and I defensively lift my hands to signal that I’m no threat. I must look quite intimidating with my beard and dark skin. My scarf must still cover half of my lower face.

“You don’t want to go in this direction either.”

A lengthier explanation on my tongue I want to continue but the frown deepens and the corners of her mouth drop.

- “Well, then we better head to the middle. It was bearable there.”

With a short questioning glance, but without waiting for an answer, she grabs my coat’s sleeve and pulls me behind her while Đá Số Tới sings his lyrics for Tâm Sự Bạn Gái in the background.

The second we plop down on the seats, where the smell is still lingering but not vomit-inducing, the loudspeakers crackle. I prepare myself for some information from the lovely AI voice. When I concentrate I am able to get the gist of the message.

- “Guten Morgen. Wir steh‘n hier wohl für ‘ne Weile. Irgendwelche Leute tummln sich zwischen Steinheim und Hanau auf‘n Gleisn. Sobald ich mehr weiß, sag ich Bescheid.“

The voice was muffled. And fast. Far too fast. I stare at the woman opposite me. Weirdly enough, she is grinning and then meets my eyes.

- “Oh, you might not have understood. We’re stuck here.”

“For how long?”

In one instance, I mentally check different connections. While my team leader is quite relaxed with our working time, I prefer to start early and end early. A habit which I have copied from some of my German colleagues. Like this I have enough time to spend outside of work. Learn German. Get to know the region. Immerse in German culture. Meet locals.

Ha, meet locals.

A sigh escapes me and the woman gently pats my knee.

- “It’s not gonna take too long. They usually clear the people off the tracks quite quickly.”

“Does that happen often?”

- “Occasionally. But it’s a bit odd that it’s so early in the morning. Are you in a rush?”

I explain my situation to her and she nods. Then she whips out her phone and shows me different connections, so I still might arrive at work around the time I was planning to.

“If the train is going to leave in the next fifteen minutes.”

With another swipe, she closes the app and for a second I see the last song on her Spotify® list. My eyes grow wide and my heart starts beating faster.

- “What’s the matter?”

I must have done something to make her worry. All awkwardness from our first contact is gone and instead I feel a familiar connection between the two of us.

“You listen to Bloodywood?”

She must hear the excitement in my voice. To my surprise her cheeks turn red. She clears her throat a few times, looks at her phone and then back to me. Clearly, she is hesitating, but her eyes also gleam with suppressed excitement.

- “I do. Not to all of their songs. But … yeah. I do. How about you?”

For real?! A woman like her? Listening to … an Indian metal band?! I want to bounce up and down on the seat, feeling as excited as a kid, when I got a bike for my seventh birthday. But I’m a grown man, so I just try to control that the wide grin doesn’t look creepy.

“I didn’t even know people in Germany know them. They’re from my hometown.”

- “Oh, you from New Delhi?”

“Ja, ich komme aus Indien.“

I try my German. The phrases I never thought I would use. Basic introduction isn’t needed in my company. They all know my name. They all know where I’m from. They all know what I can do.

The grin appears on the woman’s face again. I thought Germans to be quite reserved. My colleagues are friendly but distant. This is the first time that I have seen somebody express their emotions so frequently and openly.

She pulls off her gloves and stuffs them into the coat pocket. Then she offers me her hand.

- “Hallo, ich bin Mareike. Schön dich kennenzulernen.“

I stare at her hand.

There is a jolt. We both get jerked slightly in our position. Me towards her.

- “Oh, das Wunder vom Dienstag! Wir sind wieder auf‘m Weg. Voraussichtliche Ankunft in Hanau 5 Uhr 58.“

There is sarcasm audible in the train conductor’s voice. I can hear it without understanding a thing. The woman giggles a bit, her hand still in the air, waiting for a reaction. I grab it. It is warm. I mimic her grin.

“Ich bin Raj. Wie geht’s?“