A Stranger I’d Come to Know

see how crowded it always is???  Not my photo…

The time spent, commuting, translated…

By my sophomore year, I’d decided, to stop renting away, and started, commuting between Taoyuan and Hsinchu every single day. The nearly two-hour train ride, I liked sitting by the windows, sometimes, I’d read, sometimes, I’d, lifted my head, to see the scenes outside the windows, and would, observe the other passengers too. Everybody has her/his own habits, used to getting on at certain places, sitting in certain seats, and, because of these habits, I’d gotten to know, that “familiar stranger”.

She would always get on at Zhongli, and, it was, during the rush hours, and, fighting for a seat was like playing that childhood game. Or maybe, she’d, observed me, learned that I get off at Taoyuan, and would always, stand in front of me. After awhile, I’d found, that she had a baby bump, guessed that she may be pregnant, and, had let my seat up for her to sit down when I saw her. And, there wasn’t any verbal exchanges between us save for the simple “thank you” and “you’re welcome!”

As the seasons marched into winter, I’d not seen her for a very long time, until the spring, we’d bumped into one another again on the trains. She had, cut off her long hair, and, became, slimmer now. “Oh, she’d, had her baby!”, it’d suddenly, dawned on me. This time, I’d not let up my seat, until I’d heard the P.A. announcing, “Taoyuan Station”, I got ready to leave, all of a sudden, she’d, flashed me a smile, said to me, “Thanks for letting your seat for me, I’d given birth to a healthy baby girl, and I hope, that she will grow up to be gentle and kind like you too.”

I’d smiled shyly, walked out of the trains, and, was, greeted by that gentle spring breeze, what, a beautiful spring this is.

the signs for the priority seats on the MRT trains here…picture from online.

This, is the result of a kindness of a stranger, and, because of this student’s kindness toward this woman she didn’t know, the stranger reciprocated, and that, is how we relate to one another, by showing these random acts of kindness, which connects us to each other.