among every busy, fatiguing day, awaited the hour commute back home
the shaky ride, the people watching, the pungent smell that stung the nose
no matter how many times she rode the train
despite the uneasiness that came with the ride,
it was a time of decompression
headphones on, but not too loud in case someone approached,
the scrolling, catching up on texts and notifications,

the pondering of what to eat when the ride ended, the eagerness of seeing her black cat,
who very much so awaited her return
but when those things came to an end and she still had 35 minutes left of her ride
the thoughts crept in, a moody song queuing just in time to fit the headspace
the sinking feeling of loneliness, pulling her deep, no matter how many people surrounded her
scenes of the city whirling by outside the train windows,
sun setting, casting running shadows on every surface
the thoughts always became too much during this time
threatening her to surrender to them
by the end of the ride, it had always felt as if she had been in a train wreck