The Tattered, Red Book
Hey everyone! I am back and trying to get content back up and running. Here is a short story I wrote last night. Hope you enjoy!
The doors opened to the subway and a crowd of passengers clambered on each hoping to find a seat before the others. This subway wasn’t overly crowded, all seats were filled and there were just a few people standing here and there. The subway train began to leave the station and everyone settled in for their trip, wherever their final destination would be.
One man sat down. He was traveling back to his lonely apartment after a long day in the office. He found the subway relaxing, it was his time to decompress before arriving home to make dinner and do cleaning and maintenance tasks. He opened up his briefcase and pulled out a book with a bright red cover. It was a tattered, old copy of The Wind In The Willows. He knew that it was a children’s book, but he would often read it when taking his mind off the long, hard day. He enjoyed the exploits of Mole, Mr. Toad, Badger, and Ratty.
Just as he was beginning to read something caught his eye. Across the subway from him was a beautiful woman. She had the most gorgeous brown hair and deep brown eyes. She was dressed smartly, as if she too had just come from an office job. Maybe a law firm? But this was not the first time he had ever seen a beautiful woman on the subway and he knew that it was impolite and inappropriate to stare at anyone. He went back to read his book but again noticed the woman. She pulled a book out of her purse and to the man’s surprise it was a tattered, old, bright red copy of The Wind In The Willows, just like his.
Alarms went off in the man’s head. She was reading his book! Was this destiny that brought them together that day on the subway? Was this a sign that he was meant to talk to her? This had to be the best conversation started ever! Was The Wind In The Willows her favorite book too? Who was her favorite character?
The woman crossed her legs and turned a page.
The man’s mind continued to reel. “But what if she thinks I’m a creep? You don’t just talk to people on the subway. She might not even like the Wind In The Willows, she might be reading it for work or something.” He knew that was a silly thought, but he convinced himself it was legitimate. “My heart would be broken if she gave me a dirty look or said something mean to me.”
The woman turned another page.
“Besides, I’ve never met her. For all I know, she could be an awful person. No one that pretty can be a nice person. Yeah, she’s probably a toxic, rude person. She’s probably just reading the Wind In The Willows so that she can mock my favorite childhood book. She probably hates Mr. Toad!”
The woman brushed a stray hair behind her ear and kept reading.
“But,” his look softened. “I’ll never know any of that if I don’t talk to her. She might be the most amazing person ever. We might be very compatible to each other. What would it hurt just to say hello or that I like her book? What is the worst that could happen? I’m going to talk to her. If I don’t, I might regret it the rest of my life!
Suddenly, the train stopped and the doors opened. The woman looked up, quickly closed her book and put it back in her purse as she stood. It was her stop. As she gathered her belongings, something caught her eye.
She looked at the man and smiled warmly, for just a moment as they made eye contact it seemed as if the world stopped and it was only the two of them.
“Nice book! It’s my favorite!” she said to him and quickly hurried off the train.
The doors closed, the subway train began moving again. And now all that was left in the seat across from the man was the memory of a missed opportunity and a dream of what could have been.