I'm standing on the subway platform, waiting for the 4:45 train. I just finished the night shift, and I'm now on my way home. There is no one else here, but me. I'm use to it. It's not the first time I took this route. I grab a pack of cigarettes and took one out. I put the pack back in my pocket, put the one in my mouth, and lit it. I inhale deeply and exhale slowly. As the smoke clear, I saw a woman to my right, holding books and journals very closely to her chest. I continue staring at her. I've never seen her around here. I want to go up to her and ask what she was doing, but for some reason, she looked uneasy. She looks down, looking at the platform floor.
The train arrives, I threw my cigarette to the ground and stepped on it as I walk toward the train. The woman follows. The doors slide open, I step in and took a seat. She does the same and sits across from me on the other side of the train. I look at her again, wondering what her story is, it never came to me. She continues holding her books to her chest, staring at the floor. The doors closes, and the train starts moving.
As the train goes along the track, the lights above us flicker. I want to say something to her. I open my mouth, but nothing came out, not a single word. I couldn't think of anything to say.
We came out of the tunnel, the city lights lit the cabin. The storm outside began to pour on the train. I turned around to look out the window. The purple of the neon lights from the city lit the rain, dripping down the window.
I look back around at her. The image of her, looking down, holding her books, the glow of the purple neon lights lit the left side of her face, and the train’s flickering lights flash her right. The beauty of it burns in my memory.
The train starts to screech as it slowly comes to a stop. The doors slide open, my eyes follows her as she stands up and walks out the doors. I turn to the window, still watching her as she turns purple from the neon lights and the rain drenches her. I place my hand on the window as she fades away going down stairs to the streets below. The doors close, and the train continues moving forward.
