[Intro — 10 Seconds] [Faint water against wood] [Old ferry timbers settling] Six-fifteen. Eleven minutes. Between one shore And another. [Verse 1] Twenty-eight years at the wheel, Watching morning cross the water. Nurses coming home from night shifts, Children growing into fathers. Same old seats, Same quiet faces, Same pale light upon the rail. Eleven minutes heading east. Eleven coming back again. I knew the current by its breathing. Knew the fog before it came. Some people rode for twenty years Before I ever learned their names. [Pre-Chorus] There is a moment After leaving, Before the other shore appears, When nobody Needs an answer. Nobody Has arrived. [Chorus] Give me eleven minutes Between one life and the next. Eleven minutes With nowhere I'm expected yet. Before the door, Before the clock, Before the world Calls out my name. Give me eleven minutes Where I can be Nobody again. [Instrumental] [Rhodes and warm Moog bass] [Veena harmonics answering the vocal] [Restrained tremolo guitar] [Verse 2] Then one summer The water lowered. Nine minutes. Then seven. Sand appeared Around the markers Where the deepest water Had been. Engineers came down one morning, Measured everything in sight. Said, "The road around is faster. Soon this crossing Won't survive." Five minutes. Then four. The propeller Touched the ground. So I started taking wider turns Where deeper water Could be found. At least That's what I told them. [Pre-Chorus] Kaalam changes everything. Jalam finds another way. Still I turned A wider circle, Trying to make Four minutes stay. [Chorus] Give me eleven minutes Between one life and the next. Eleven minutes With nowhere I'm expected yet. Before the door, Before the clock, Before the world Calls out my name. நான் இங்கே… Naan ingae… I am here. And for eleven minutes That is enough. [Verse 3] Monday morning Came the notice. FINAL SERVICE — FRIDAY. One white page Against the window. Twenty-eight years Reduced to type. I folded it And kept on working. Three more mornings. Nothing changed. Coffee. Tickets. Quiet passengers. Only less and less Between the banks. [Instrumental Passage] [Deep-house groove opens] [Veena harmonics] [Soft mridangam underneath the kick] [Tremolo guitar drifting across the stereo field] [Verse 4] Friday. Six-fifteen. I turned the engine. Nothing. Tried reverse. The propeller Found the earth. The ferry stayed Beside the landing. Then I heard them Coming down. Twenty footsteps. Thirty. Forty. Half the people From the town. I opened up the gate. "I'm sorry. There's no crossing Here today." An old man In his usual seat Looked at me And said, "We know." [Reveal — Voice + Rhodes Only] They boarded anyway. The nurse Opened her coffee. Someone unfolded The morning paper. Two old friends Argued about football. Nobody asked me To start the engine. Nobody watched The opposite shore. And then... I understood. They weren't waiting For the ferry To move. They were waiting For eleven minutes To pass. [Silence] At six-twenty-eight The old man stood. "Thank you, Ana." One by one They followed. Stepped down Onto the exposed sand And walked To the other side. [Dark Chorus — Gradual Rebuild] It was never eleven minutes Because the water was wide. It was eleven minutes When nobody Belonged to either side. Not yet worker. Not yet mother. Not yet widow. Not yet wife. Just a coat Against a wooden seat. Just breathing. Just alive. அமைதி… Amaithi… Peace Between the shores. For eleven minutes The world Asked nothing more. [Verse 5] Next morning There was no timetable. No engine Waiting underneath. Still they came At six-fifteen And climbed aboard The stranded ferry. Some sat quietly By the windows. Some leaned Against the rail. Nobody spoke About the water. Nobody asked Why they were there. Eleven minutes. Then they rose. Walked across The silver sand. So I stopped Watching the depth marks. Stopped measuring What we'd lost. [Final Chorus] Take your eleven minutes Between one life and the next. Eleven minutes With nowhere You're expected yet. Before the door, Before the clock, Before somebody Needs your name. Take your eleven minutes. Let the whole world Wait. The water changed. The distance changed. The boat No longer crossed. But sometimes What disappears Reveals What never was. [Final Refrain] Eleven minutes. Neither shore. Eleven minutes. Nothing more. நான் இங்கே… Naan ingae… I am here. शान्तिः… Shanti… I am here. [Outro] [Ferry timbers] [Distant water] [Rhodes fading] Six-fifteen. Someone sits down. I look at the clock. And wait.
