Strangers on a Train.

[Character 1: The Observer]

The train smells like damp fabric and impatience. I sit by the window, headphones in but nothing playing. Sometimes I just turn on the noise cancellation feature. Watching people is more interesting than listening to music right now.

That’s when I notice her.

She’s sitting across from me, staring at her phone with the kind of focus that says she’s not really seeing it. She has that look; half-lost in thought, half-exhausted. Maybe both.

hmm

I wonder what her story is.

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[Character 2: The Wanderer]

I feel his eyes on me before I even look up. It’s not creepy. its just…just curious. You know, the way people glance at strangers and wonder who they are beneath the surface. The “curious look”.

I should be reading. Or texting back my dad. But my mind is stuck on the past few hours, on the message I still haven’t answered.

“Are you ever coming home?”

I don’t know.

I shift in my seat and glance up. Our eyes meet for half a second.

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[Character 1: The Observer]

She looks up. Just for a moment. And then she looks away, like she doesn’t want to be seen.

I get it. Some days, being seen feels like too much.

The train jerks forward, and I catch the briefest flicker of a smile before she turns back to her phone. A silent acknowledgment. A moment shared.

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[Character 2: The Wanderer]

For some reason, I almost say something. Almost.

But what do you even say to a stranger who just happens to be in the same place at the same time?

The train slows. My stop is next.

I get up, hesitate for half a second, then tap my fingers lightly on the seat as I pass. Not a goodbye, not a hello… just something?

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[Character 1: The Observer]

She’s gone before I can react.

I glance down where her fingers brushed the seat. Just a tiny movement, but enough to mean something. i don’t how to explain it but it meant something…

oh well

Hopefully we’ll meet again. i doubt it

A stranger on a train. A story I’ll never know.

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Okay, so this piece of fiction isn’t supposed to be posted on this publication. Sonic Stories was supposed to be about music and African art. But I just decided, “fuck it, maybe just this one time” (plus i wanted to try out this writing format😗). Anyways, lmk what y’all think.

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I keep putting y’all on good music. APPRECIATE IT.

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