The low whistle of the train rung in my ears. Sounds of chatter could be heard as the train doors opened. A group of teenagers walked past me, the smell of alcohol lingered behind them as they continued their journey back home, where they'd inevitably get caught by their parents.
With the exception of those kids, the station was isolated. Not many people were out this late on Tuesday nights. Most people were asleep, dreading the early morning of work laid ahead of them, or they were eating a late family dinner as they conversed with their children about school, over burnt chicken that lacked flavor.
Fortunately for me, I had no family and lacked a job. Most people would pity me. But I knew no one to tell my story to. Not that it mattered. I was not a storyteller. I had no story to tell, only a pair of eyes to watch those around me as they experienced their own story.
The doors to the train in front of me had begun to shut. I did not mind. This was not my train. I didn't have a specific destination in mind, but I knew this wasn't my train because there was something telling me that it wasn't. So there I stood, frozen as none of my limbs willed me to move.
An all too familiar screeching sound accompanied the train as it departed. The familiar sense of isolation that normally followed wasn't there. There was a second of confusion, broken by the voice of a man. There was a man next to me. That was why I did not feel alone.
"Chilly out." He spoke with a soft smile as he pulled out a cigarette, a weak attempt at small talk. I simply nodded, watching him through the corner of my eye. The man was slightly taller than average. His sunken eye bags told me that he was an avid smoker. Either that or he was an insomniac, which often came hand in hand with smoking. So yes, he was an avid smoker.
I don't smoke. There's just not a good reason to do so. There's reasons as to why you shouldn't smoke. But none of them are very compelling. Hence why people still smoke.
"Where are you headed?" He asked, clearly unbothered by the lack of a response that I had given to his first attempt of a conversation. Most people may have taken his choice of words as a warning to be careful and avoid him. Those people were idiots.
There's always something about people that lets you know their true intentions. It could be something small or big but it was there, you just needed to know where to look.
The man was friendly. The hint of awkwardness in his voice told me that. He had his issues, I could tell, but everyone had issues.
"That's for the night to decide." I said after a beat of silence. My voice had come out slightly raspy since my throat was dry. I wouldn't drunken some water but the shops were too expensive. That was a result of corporate greed.
He hummed in response, flipping up the collar of his jacket. There was a loud static noise, indicating that the intercom had switched on to tell us about the next train. As expected, the smooth robotic voice began to share the details of the next train that would arrive in five minutes.
This was his train. I knee it because of the way his head perked up and he stepped slightly closer to the tracks. This was not my train either.
"How about you? Where are you headed?" I asked. I knew the destination of the next train, but each person was here for a different reason. I knew mine. Now I wanted to know his.
It may have been a bit out of the ordinary for me since I don't talk much. Not as much as other people at least. It's not because I didn't like talking, but more so because I didn't like doing things without reason.
That was what set me apart from most people. Everything I did had a reason. I needed reason. Others didn't.
There was a reason why I was at the train station to night, and why I had let my bangs grow longer than usual. There was a reason why I didn't buy the water that I wanted, and why I hadn't gotten on the train yet.
