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The People on the Train


As the train sped through the darkened tunnel, slight glimmers of light became visible from the station ahead.  The other people on the train strained to look out of the windows.  Some people determinedly grabbed their belongings and prepared to exit at the station.  Other people just seemed overwhelmed, their eyes darting between the approaching platform and the multi-colored lines of the route map.  Looking through the car’s windows, I could see that the platform was crowded.  While some people followed the approaching train intently, others just seemed lost in their own thoughts, almost oblivious to anything - and anyone - else around them.

To my side, I could see through the plate glass partition leading to the next car.  The scene there was much as it was now in my car.  A crowd of people standing at the car’s doors, like runners on their marks, ready to make an immediate exit.  The train came to a stop and, after a brief pause, the doors parted and I was rushed onto the platform.  I was now a part of the crowd I had seen from the car’s windows just moments earlier.  Weaving through the mass of people, I worked my way as best I could through the crowd and towards a short escalator.  The escalator was just as full as the platform, with at least two people on each step.  Essentially, all I could do was find a few inches of space and stay there.

Halfway up the escalator, I was able to turn my head to survey the scene I had just left.  From this point of view, the not-so-large crowd had seemingly morphed into something entirely different.  Behind me, wherever I looked, every inch of space was occupied.  On the escalator...people.  Everywhere on the platform...people.  And, on the tracks at the edge of the platform, a train left the station, filled with...people.

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