Be Safe

  It was cold that night. Probably around 10 o'clock in the station of Stony Brook, Long Island NY. 10 o'clock is of a different feeling depending on where you lives. In Manhattan, 10 pm just feels like 7pm . the road is bustling with people, hurrying or taking a tiny break from their work of their own dreams, cabs that always look so busy and expensive to ride in and all those neon lights on the buildings giving you so much to look at... but in Long Island or anywhere not in Manhattan but in the NY zone, 10 pm is the kind of moment where everyone is gone, back to their cozy beds either cuddling with their families, enjoying a hot bowl of soup or are on their way to sleep and get ready to go in the next morning. It is the feeling where you are left alone in the dark. It will leave people wonder why you are still out. And there i was , 10 pm stepping out the train on my own. Not many people were leaving the stations with me, even there were like 8 people of the entire train, they were all putting on their hats and gloves and kept their head down in their coats trying to get as much warmth as they can in the freezing snow. And there they went,  back to their homes, which, is of the opposite direction of where i was heading. As i was pacing my way through the slush, i gingerly made my way to the tickets booth a few steps below the platform. 2 cars were parked next to the ticket booth, i walked towards the ticket machines, trying to buy the monthly pass with my credit card as i thought it would make my life so much easier. As i tried, for like 3 times already, the screen just kept popping with the message of error/invalid. Being frustrated of the idea of not being able to purchase the tickets, i was worried if my credit card was not working which was a vital thing for me to go around as i didn't carry much cash with me and the idea of arriving at the station the other day to purchase a single ticket really was like a hit by the snow, leaving me helpless on the floor.Well , that was a bit exaggerated. The sound of a car pulling by caught my attention. As you may be aware, being a girl in the cold dark night alone with no sign of human around is not a good idea. I turned to look at the direction of the sound, two white headlights of the car is making its way in as it was parked beside the ticket booth. An old lady was making her way to the machine trying to buy tickets. Somehow, the heat detecting screen seems to be not working well. She tried several times and then a few minutes later, a man, probably in his twenties/thirties, black, quite strongly built but not as a terrifying figure stepped out of the black car. well, maybe it was blue, i couldn't tell, it was pitch dark around. He was walking towards the machine or better say, walking towards the lady, trying to buy the tickets on the same machine the lady was using. But it doesn't seem to work well, so they just try another. And there click, a ticket dropped to the box. Great news to the lady, she got a ticket now. While i am still here with no ticket. I asked if they knew why i could not purchase the ticket and when the booth will be opened so an actual human can finish the transaction for me. The man was not sure and said maybe 10am ?  I thanked him and decided to stay around the machines a little bit longer thinking maybe it would work sometime later. As they were leaving back to their car, the man said, ' is anyone picking you up?' i looked at him and answered, ' oh, i live here, just across the street.'  he replied, ' oh .there, okay be careful and be safe to home.'









I just feel like the huge amount of space was needed from what he said. A space for you to sink in the care of others. I instantly felt a huge ball of warmth passing into my body. No one needed to say that to me but he did. it just made everything better, i couldn't decide if it was the pressure of not being able to buy the tickets or the cold. but it was just so warm. I agreed and thanked him as he walked back to his car. And here it was the first story of the kindness of humans of New York as i encountered.

And now i wish you safe and happiness too.

Until next time xx.