Beauty in the Dark

Prologue: An Odd Encounter

Three a.m. train rides were Niyah's favorite.

The usually desolate atmosphere eased her body into relaxation. But now, at three a.m. on a Wednesday night- well technically morning, Niyah had never dreaded a train ride more. Oddly enough, the train was several people away from reaching maximum capacity and that emptiness of the train she had found to be so similar to her psyche, was gone.

Niyah began watching the people on the train with her. She watched how they laughed and conversed with so much energy and ease as if it wasn't three a.m. She watched the people as they crowded her space and tainted her beloved train ride. She listened to their chatter that cluttered the trains atmosphere. She listened to the different emotions that leaked through their voices and shaped their aura. She watched them come together, touch, smile, and laugh until it hurt too much to keep laughing. She watched their eyes shine with happiness.

It seemed that this train was one filled with love tonight, while Niyah was filled with gloom.

About three stops later, majority of the people were off the train and she was able to relax again.

two more stops to go, she thought to herself as the door began to close and the loud chatter of the people began to fade. All of Niyah's hostility towards the previously insanely crowded train ride had vanished. Eventually, she had managed to slip into a serene state with her mind able to relax with the calming voice of the lady announcing the next train stop.

The sound of heavy footsteps released her from her calm state.

She looked up in curiosity, who else could be on the train at this time of night?

It was a man. Niyah noticed that his silhouette was that of a glum one. His head was lowered and his arms drooped beside him as if they served no purpose for his body. His dreads hung from his head, graciously swaying like the branches of a willow tree in the wind. His steps were clumsy and slow, they reflected a somber tempo, and Niyah could practically feel his sorrow as he decreased the amount of space between them.

Niyah began to get nervous. Usually people sat in different sections of the train if they could. But it looked like this man was going to sit right next to her.

And that he did.

Niyah was freaking out, either this man was about to murder her or assault her. Good chance he could do both. The man shifted and Niyah's body tensed, he had barely left any space between them and they were so close that Niyah could smell the alcohol on his breath.

Niyah took a chance and glanced at the mans face. She should at least know what her potential attackers face looked like. But her glance turned into a stare once she saw how doleful yet alluring his face was. The skin around his eyes were puffy and so were his cheeks, with fresh scratches tainting the balanced tone of his deep hickory skin that matched her own. She could see the dried tear stains on the mans face and how they traveled down the bold contour of his jaw.

Suddenly the man moved and reached into his pocket, interrupting Niyah from her staring. Niyah immediately thought the man was reaching for a gun and began to shrink and subtly scoot towards the door. If she had to, she would get off at the next stop.

Fuck, why did I have to live in America? Better yet an open carry state? Niyah asked herself.

But the man didn't pull out a gun. He just pulled out a lighter and a blunt the size of a cuban cigar. The man lifted the blunt to his mouth and set it between his lips. But before he could light it Niyah spoke.

"E-excuse me but, uh, y-your not allowed to smoke in here." Niyah stated shakily, her anxiety rising by the minute.

"I don't give a fuck." He spat and Niyah tensed up a bit more.