The train was a vivid dark blue, frightening in its intensity, speeding toward the platform. The woman dressed in all black had crimson nail polish on her elegantly shaped nails -- her nails above anything else stood out the most; her cuticles gleamed in the bright, stark flourescent light of the train car. Constant thoughts were running through her mind -- anxiety, fear, terror (The walls, they're being squeezed tight...I'm going to be crushed!), claustrophobia (Get out, get out, get out!). Stepping onto the train, the woman stood even though there were numerous seats left open. The seconds ticked by, each one longer than the previous. One stop, then the next and the next; the woman stayed standing. Her mouth was moving a mile a minute chewing some gum; the snarling and biting motion of her mouth only emphasized her frightened feeling of being trapped within the stuffy, strained atmosphere of the train. Bad day at work, stressed, not looking forward to going home, anxiety about being on the train, lack of control?
Tapping.
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap. Her nails against one of the standing poles within the train was ear-splitting. There was a distinct rhythm to the noise as though the woman was trying to distract herself from her tumultuous emotions, pushing against her insides like a wild animal, wanting to break out of her skin.
(Stop, stop, slowing down, thank God, STOP!)
The train stopped. Shallow, frenzied breaths of air could be heard as the doors opened. The woman in black stepped through the blue, automatic doors as quickly as she had entered, and walked back into her life.
5:15pm.