Stepping onto the train at Central, I felt someone looking at me. Casting my eyes around the graffiti decorated metal carriage, I found my silent watcher.
A little Asian girl was sitting on the seat at the foot of the stairs leading to the lower compartment. She must have been about 3 or 4 years old. Without fear or curiosity she regarded me as our eyes locked. In her hand she held a little paper bag. As I watched, her eyelids began to close, snap open and then slowly close once more. Within a minute she was asleep.
Beside her, obscured by the compartment's bulkhead, was her mother. The little girls head fell back as sleep consumed her, mother's hand reached over and slowly stroked the daughter's face. The disembodied hand tenderly moved the girls head into a comfortable position before reaching around her. Mother's face came into view and she planted a loving kiss on the girls forehead.
As I left the train at Wynyard station I took one last look at the peaceful face and the nurturing arm.
About Me
- Paul B. Adams
- Vancouver, BC, Canada
- After an 18 year career in Information Technology, Paul sold his house and most of his possessions to realise three dreams: to travel in South East Asia, visit Japan and to become a writer. Paul left his native Britain in 2002 and after his Asian travels, spent four years living in Sydney, Australia, where he undertook a Ba in Communications, majoring in Creative Writing and Cultural Studies. Paul, co-writer of "The Marionette Unit," now lives in Vancouver.
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