this morning #1953.

this morning, i hopped on the metro. grabbed a seat close to the door & put my headphones on. soft sounds of an ambient orchestra turned up loud to drown out the chatter around me for the half-hour ride. took out my book. forcefield deployed. out of the corner of my eye, a figure inched closer. in & out of the picture. closer still until there was an elderly woman parked right in front of me. she didn’t move. i tried to ignore her. forcefield deployed until she reached out & tapped the spine of my book. i had to let my defenses down. took off my headphones. kept calm. “hi. can i help you?” she smirked. “oh no, my dear. i’m here to help you.” we pulled into the next stop. she held out her hand. “come, hon. let’s get off.” i did not.