i saw a woman today as i boarded my train on my daily commute home. her bag caught my eye at first, she had the bag to a nice japanese china store that i frequent…then it was her face…the wrinkles that criscross her face doesn’t hide that she once was a classic japanese beauty. her movements fluid, no signs of aging…her small stature most likely disguising the strength that lie within her…i walked behind her, watching her, fascinated by her every move. she stared into space, perhaps like the rest of us, just reading the random ads posted in the cars to pass time until her stop…i saw in her my own grandmother, how similar they seemed…from the same era, strong women who had to survive while the men were off to die in a war the world blindly fought against each other. i wondered where she had been, perhaps coming from the same city as my grandmother’s family…what horrors has she seen…what joys has she celebrated…
perhaps she led an ordinary life, much like my grandmother…married, loving husband, children, and grandchildren surrounding her. relying on others as much as they relied on her…
she looked up at me, and i saw a pair of kind eyes, looking at me as if i was one of her own. my smile mirrored her own as we exited the train at the same stop. i walked behind her, almost in a protective stance, shielding her in the short span up the escalator…i dont’ know what i was protecting her from, or why i was doing it, only that i felt the need to, to make sure she was okay while she was in my presence.
as we stepped off the escalator, i watched as she walked away slowly, in the opposite direction that i was headed. i fought an urge to follow her, to help her with her bag as i would have if she was my grandmother…instead, i walked on, head hung low as i thought of my own, wondering whether she was thinking of me as i was of her…and i smiled…know the answer was yes…
i will call my grandmother tomorrow…just to say hi…and to let her know i am thinking of her…although she will never know how much or how deeply i miss her…i’m sure it’s still nice to just know you’re being missed…
steph
Starving Poet Says: