The mighty Jumbo roared down the runway and rose majestically in the air. Slowly, the aircraft banked and commenced a gentle turn into the vast blue sky. The pilots looked at each other and put the plane on auto pilot.

Meanwhile, Shreya was staring hard at her companion. He seemed to be in a deep slumber. She could not understand how a person could go off to sleep so easily. The tall athletic body was heaving gently. The long aquiline nose was the only harsh feature of otherwise a perfectly bronzed face. It was the face of a man who knew what he wanted. Presently, of course an uninterrupted sleep. The rattling of the cups did make him open his eyes, at times, but only momentarily.

Shreya was mesmerized by his face. There was something that was vaguely familiar. Maybe, it was an unconscious act, which reminded her of her father. Visions floated by in her mind. Her brother, then ten years old was trying to wake up her father. She was sitting demurely in one corner. Her father waved him off and again went of to sleep. Rahul, who loved to play games, went to the garden and started playing with a cricket ball.

Suddenly, there were was a loud sound of shattering glass and the remnants of the window pane were strewn around. It was six and out. She heard her father wake up with a jerk and look towards the shattered window. There came a loud wail from him and he jumped up angrily. She also heard her brother scamper away quickly. That was the last she saw of him. Where was he now? Advertisements were given in different newspapers, rewards were announced, but all to no avail. It seemed that the earth had swallowed him.

Her father slowly started to lose weight and soon became a shadow of himself. Her mother also kept to herself and spoke very little. The whole household felt guilty of Rahul's disappearance. After five years, the family shifted to Mumbai. But the pall of gloom never lifted. Recently, there was a ray of happiness, when her engagement got fixed with Sanjay. Oh! how she fervently wished Rahul could be there for the ceremony. She ardently prayed to Lord Shree Krishna, if a miracle could take place.

She was awakened from her memories by the sudden juddering of the big aircraft as it entered an air pocket. Her companion also stirred. He opened his eyes slowly and grinned at her. Today, after fifteen years, she thought she had met someone whom she seemed to have known for years.

"Something interesting", he asked. Then she realized that she was staring at him continuously. "Oh my God, what will he think?" she thought. He had a mischievous grin and he seemed to be enjoying her discomfiture completely. "Could it be," she dared to think.

"Hello, I am coming from a long and grueling business conference. It has completely drained me. It is for this reason that I can barely keep my eyes open", he said. Shreya then asked him what business he was engaged in. "Oh, just like that; import some and export some".

There came a lull in the conversation as the Captain's voice boomed on the intercom telling the passengers the height of the aircraft, the prevalent temperature outside and what the expected time for reaching their destination was. Meanwhile, Shreya's heart continued to hammer violently. "Was it possible?" she continued to ask herself.

"Where are you from", she asked him shyly. He looked at her, thought carefully and answered "Bombay". All her hopes deflated like a balloon that had suddenly developed a major leak. The color drained from her face and she felt a deep sense of loss. "Oh why did God do such things.

“Presently, but really I do not know where I am from, I was very young when I left home…..”. Shreya looked astounded and happily listened to the monologue. She then knew that miracles were possible even in this world; provided you really wanted them to happen.