Passing Through

Another late night on the same mid-town subway platform as the previous entry. This night, I stood near the foot of a stairway reading. I was leaning against a steel girder next to the stairway, so I wasn't actually blocking anyone either coming from or going toward the stairs or the narrow passage to the rest of the platform beyond the stairway.

Eventually, a man comes down & stops at the foot of the stairway. He asks me what time it is, I look at my watch & tell him. He then starts a typically banal conversation with me, as there really isn't a lot a stranger might talk about while waiting for a train.

Considering that I'm rather polite -- as well as being open to odd situations -- I certainly don't stop this man. He continues talking, & I only interject where necessary to let him know that I'm still paying attention. After a while, I begin to get a strange feeling about this man. It's not what he's saying that bothers me, but rather something about him.

It was then that a woman coming down the stairway catches my attention. Instead of veering off to go round this man at the foot of the stairs, she simply continues on taking no notice of him. I wait with anticipation for what will happen next.

This woman walks right through the man.

Abruptly, the man stops talking in mid-sentence, turns his gaze to the woman who is now walking down the platform, turns to me as if to say something about how rude that was, then continues on with what he was saying.

Naturally, I'm feeling very entertained by this, but my train finally comes down the tracks into the station. I excuse myself, interrupting the man, saying that this is my train. He replies, "No problem. Nice talking to you."

I board my train & head home.