rambles and shambles

ms goodwin & the strange story of 'd.m'

Ms Bili Goodwin broke into a run as she neared the doors of the packed subway cart. It was lucky she'd worn her flats today, she thought. She reached the doors with mere seconds to spare and managed to bag herself a seat a little down the warm, busy carriage. She carefully placed her cream handbag on her lap and started to quietly rummage through the 4th grade quizzes and drawings until she found what she was looking for. Just as she was about to give up and loose hope, she found it - her fluffy, pink iphone. Her phone was usually hard to miss due to the large pink, bear shaped case that engulfed it. Miss Goodwin only had one text, a hasty 'how are you? x' from her sister. She'd reply to it later.

They'd arrived at the next station, Greenpoint. The carriage was once again filled with bustling chaos as people got on and off. Just as the seat next to her vacated, a tall, thin man of around thirty approached it. He adjusted the trousers of his light grey, tailored suit before slowly sitting down on the hard, metal seat. The man placed his briefcase down with such care and attention that for a second Ms Goodwin considered that there might be something of particular... value inside of it. She regarded the man with suspicion before dismissing the idea. Of course not. This wasn't a blockbuster, she was being fanatical again.

The fourth grade teacher turned her gaze back to her phone. Not much had happened since she'd last checked her phone at lunch time, of course, nothing much ever happened to Ms Goodwin. She woke up early, went to work early, ate lunch alone in her classroom and stayed behind long after school had finished. She returned home during rush hour so that she wasn't left alone on the subway and she watched soaps when she got home. She had a strict meal plan that she kept to and she never differed from it. Bili Goodwin was just being fanatical, of course.

The man beside her only stayed on for one stop, he stood up with predetermined ease, dropping a crumpled piece of paper onto Ms Goodwin's lap as he did so.

"Sir?" She called out, but to no avail. He stepped off of the platform briskly and was lost in the crowd of people.

Ms Goodwin looked around for a bin, but there was none. She'd just have to hold onto it until it was time to get off. She couldn't leave it there, of course not. Nobody else had noticed, they were all too pluged in with their headphones and those new 'Air Pods'. Curiosity soon got the better of her, and Ms Goodwin slowly uncrumpled the paper. She tried not to tear it, in case it was somehow important and she'd have to return it.

In neat, professional print the shocking words were written:

"Get out while you still can."

-D.M