The Stranger
Chapter 1 — The Stranger
8:17 in the morning.
The Chennai Metro was more crowded than usual.
Almost everyone had a phone in their hands.
Someone was watching Instagram reels.
Someone was asking ChatGPT for interview answers.
Another person was scrolling through yet another LinkedIn post that began with,
“Thrilled to announce…”
Outside, the world was constantly changing.
News about AI.
News about job cuts.
A new app launch.
A celebrity breakup.
A political controversy.
Every five minutes, there was something new.
But for Nila, none of it felt new.
She was the one who felt like a stranger to the world.
Twenty-three.
She had finished her degree.
She had a LinkedIn profile.
A resume.
An Instagram account.
If someone asked her about her life, she had plenty of things to say.
But if someone asked,
“What do you really want?”
she never had an answer.
She looked at her reflection in the glass door of the Metro.
The same face.
The same eyes.
And yet, every day, that face seemed to become a little more unfamiliar to her.
She took out her phone.
An Instagram notification.
“Someone liked your story.”
She locked her phone without opening it.
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She didn’t need likes.
She didn’t need followers.
She didn’t even need a relationship status.
There was only one thing she wanted.
An answer to one question:
“Do I really belong in this world?”
Just then, a guy took the empty seat opposite her.
He was looking at his phone too.
But unlike everyone else…
No Instagram.
No YouTube.
No news.
He opened his phone’s camera…
and took a picture of her.
Nila immediately looked at him.
“Excuse me.”
He lowered his phone.
“Sorry.”
“Why did you take my picture?”
He stayed silent for two seconds.
Then smiled.
“You were the only person in this Metro who wasn’t looking at anyone, yet somehow seemed to be watching everyone.”
Nila stared at him.
“So?”
“That’s why…”
He paused.
“You looked like a stranger to this world.”
She fell silent.
Because…
For the first time, someone had actually noticed her.
She didn’t know his name.
She didn’t know who he was.
But she didn’t know it yet…
that one sentence was about to open a completely new chapter in her life……………………..
