Encounter on the S-Bahn

ENCOUNTER ON THE S-BAHN

NONSENSE I SAID - THEY ARE ALREADY WAITING FOR YOU

The train was late. They said is was due to the weather - slush and snow in these past few days. The gloomy sky colored everything grey on the platform, the few people patiently waiting appeared like silent wraiths. A candy bar was stuck in the vending machine and a little boy was furiously punching all the buttons when all of a sudden the gears started turning again - on several items: jackpot!

I turned to look down from the elevated platform onto the empty street below. Normally the arrival of the train would be announced, but this time, it just snuck into the station quietly, and only the faint hiss of the doors opening alerted me to its presence. The car was nearly empty. Some of the passengers barricaded themselves with their shopping bags, some would stare vacantly at a point just a foot in front of their nose, others yet pretending to be busy with their cellphones.

A young lady across the isle was watching something on her i-pad, absentmindedly playing with a ring, twisting it in her fingers, when it suddenly slipped from her grip. With a sparkling trail it rolled across towards me and landed with a soft tinkle under my seat. I retrieved it and handed it to her. As our fingertips touched for a brief moment, the greyness disappeared - I caught a wisp of honey-blond hair, porcelain-blue eyes and a little smile, a silent thank you on her lips. She turned back to her i-pad, brushing the screen lightly with her fingertips - and disappeared. They late afternoon had turned into darkness.

Note: originally published as a note on facebook on February 25th 2013
Picture: drawing on paper - 2012