Let us be silent

[nanila]

Since I tend to take trains at a restricted set of times into London every day, I've managed to make a couple of train friends - but only on the morning trains. In the evenings, there's too much of a scramble to manage to see the same people every time. The National Rail staff at Kings Cross like to exacerbate this situation by announcing the platforms no more than six or seven minutes before the train is due to depart. Now, I don't know if any of you have ever tried to get from the main Kings Cross station to the end of a 12-carriage train on one of the platforms, but I can assure you that only by walking on the verge of a run can you get there in under four minutes. This means that the moment they announce the platform heralds a stampede. I can't imagine what it must be like for anyone who is elderly, physically disabled or even just carrying a heavy bag.

Recently, however, I noticed I was seeing a couple of familiar faces on my evening train. I smile at them, but I'm too tired to make conversation and frankly, I wouldn't want to try. No one wants to have their exhausted naps interrupted. I tend to seek out the end carriage (because it's the first one to pull into Cambridge station). A man in that carriage always sits in the same seat - I have no idea how he manages that; I assume he runs down the platform - and I often sit next to him when the seat is free. I like it because he's quite slim, he looks at his smartphone until we leave the station and then he buttons himself into his coat and goes to sleep. This leaves me free to read or sleep myself, and I'm comfortable in the seat because I'm not being squashed by a gigantic man. I assume he likes it for the same reason - I'm quiet and small and I don't disturb him until I have to leave at Cambridge.

Last week I raced onto the train, having been held up by the Piccadilly line, which was being regulated to even out the gaps in the service. I jumped on the end carriage 45 seconds before departure, not expecting to see any empty seats. I lunged toward the first one I saw, gasping at the man in the aisle seat, "Excuse me, do you mind if I sit there?" He smiled and stood up so I could squeeze myself in. As I fished through my bag in search of my Kindle, I felt eyes on me. I turned my head and caught the eye of the man I would opt to sit next to if I'd seen him. The seat next to him was also empty.

He looked wounded.

The next evening I made a point of getting there early so I could sit next to him. He smiled extra-brightly as he stood up to let me in by the window, and settled happily back for his nap.

Comments

[rmc28]

Getting the train with luggage and a small child can be a challenge. I think it was worst when I was heavily pregnant and had SPD which meant at best I could walk slowly and painfully very short distances.

[nanila]

Oh, that sounds awful. I always feel bad for families with children, because they can never sit together. You might get one person giving up/moving seats to make space, but you certainly won't get more than that.

[alwayswondered]

Aww, what a sweet story. I never seem to see the same people on the train from one day to the next, but my train habits are fairly erratic so perhaps that's not surprising.

[nanila]

I don't see the same people on the tube, that's for sure. But my overground train arrival times are not consistent enough for me to take the same tube train every day.

[becala]

D'awwwww.

This is one of my favorite vignettes from you.

[nanila]

I had to resist the urge to pat him on the arm and offer him a biscuit.

[used_songs]

That is a really neat story. :)

[nanila]

It's funny to be so attached to people to whom you never speak, isn't it?

[used_songs]

It is. I guess it's a tribute to our ability to form connections.

[shinsetsu]

What a sweet story. :)

[nanila]

Well, it would've been cruel not to mend the breach, wouldn't it?

[dandelion_salad]

I also love this story!

[nanila]

Me too. I'm especially pleased to note that he's not a grudge-holder!

[recessional]

There is an amazing amount of humanness in this story. It's wonderful.

[nanila]

Thank you. I think it's incredibly British.

[lovepeaceohana]

Warm fuzzies! <3

[nanila]

Yes. I was pleased that I was able to make it up to him.

[sunflowerinrain]

Aww, you're somebody's teddybear! :)

[nanila]

HAHAHA yes! Yes! Exactly! You've nailed it.

[miss_haitch]

Aw, that's a lovely story. I like it when people are nice on public transport rather than aggravatingly grumpy.

[nanila]

It is rather good. I wish I could bring myself to do it all the time, but I do occasionally still lose my temper. It happens a lot less frequently (and with less vehemence) than it used to, fortunately.