WAIFUS & MUSIC

The Slow Heartbeat (Ruka Sarashina)

NOW PLAYING: "Sing" by Travis

It was a dark and breezy midnight in New York City. I just finished today's shift in the local 7-Eleven, and was ready to pack my things and go home. As a fellow co-worker of mine began the night shift, I walked out of the store in my uniform, consisting of a wrinkly white polo shirt, black pants and leather shoes that I brought with me from Harvard.

Society wasn't lying when they called NYC the "city that never sleeps". Even at twelve-midnight, the city was still illuminated in bright lights and loud noises of taxi cabs and passersby. As I approached the subway, I had to take my 7-Eleven logo-bearing cap off just to glance at the LED billboards surrounding me in Times Square. They were bright, showy, colorful, and promoting all sorts of things---one was for Spider-Man: Far from Home, another was promoting Nike shoes. Behind me were two giant billboards conjoined together, persuading me to buy a bottle of Coca-Cola.

Staring at the glamorous lights of Times Square, I put my cap on and proceeded to the underground subway. Like I said before, I was ready to go home---my brother Sam was clearly waiting for me over there. I can picture him, just bored out of his mind, staring at the television as he waits for my arrival so we could watch whatever he pulls out of his Criterion Collection setlist next. (I hope it's Seven Samurai!)

NOW PLAYING: "Hurricane" by Bob Dylan

Once I got to board the nearest subway train, I streamed some Bob Dylan on Spotify (including this song). As the train began to depart, the tempo of this folkish song began to increase. Strings, and Bob Dylan's vocals began to kick in as the train went full speed for the next destination, and I sat by the train seats, contemplating what I saw with my own two eyes.

Seated in-between me were two passengers; on the left was an elderly bearded man, as skinless and worn out as he could be. You could assume he was a homeless hermit trying to make his way through the city, as with many of the homeless hermits here trying to make their way through the city. He was simply looking down the floor, as if something tragic had happened; or if he was simply in deep thought as to how his tragic life was going.

On the right was the polar opposite; a cute young woman with bright blue eyes and short hair, tied up in a blue ribbon. She was tucked in a white cardigan sweater and a short black skirt---as she looked at her cellphone with a guilty expression. As I was waiting for the train to reach my destination, I couldn't help but just observe the crowd around me in deep thought.

Many thoughts that went through my head included; "Is the elderly man in good shape? Will he find a way to get his life in order? What's with the upset expression on that girl's face? Did someone die? Did Trump spread misinformation on social media again? Is she browsing Reddit?"

I was thinking about introducing myself to her, because of how small and cute she looked, but then I thought to myself, "Come on, man---it's a subway train; you should know better than this." I also considered trying to help out the elderly man, but ended up with the same results.

Upon reaching my destination, the woman and I got out of the train simultaneously---and ended up bumping into each other. The former fell on her knees, as she dropped her phone on the ground. (At least she didn't drop it in the tracks.)