In the Subway

Down in the subway, the wind shrieked as if in pain. It prowled the underground, shadows and concrete barricading it into twisted halls and service crannies.

Duncan was late, only two minutes until his train arrived. The wind flew past his ears, deafening and cold. As commuters pushed past him, bumping shoulders and muttering excuses, he simply stood and stared to his left. There, by the dirty stain and the rubbish bin, was a plastic bag. Abandoned, it floated aimlessly over shoes and floor tiles.

Duncan continued to stare, chasing the white bag with his eyes and missing his train. He felt somehow connected to the floating trash, feeling he had lived his entire life blindly, chasing things that didn’t seem to make a difference.

He thought it was a moment of awakening, the time he gained a knowledge that was essential to life.

Duncan believed in this fantasy so wholeheartedly, he wanted to have something special to cling onto so desperately, that he never realized that living without making a difference wasn’t such a bad thing.

Responses

  1. xguo31415926 Avatar

    Wow, the last sentence just transformed this touchy lonesome piece into a philosophical manifesto!! Did not anticipate that coming! Pleasant surprise ending!

    “to make a difference” while living is akin to the question “what is purpose of existence? Is it to make a difference or just to live”, which leads to ” the purpose of living” AKA ” the meaning of life”. Which reminds of Terry Eagleton’s book on meaning of life.

    The scene of floating garbage bag reminds of me the scene from “American Beauty”, in the movie, there is exactly such motion portrayed.

    Did Duncan get on the train or lost in his fantasy forever to an existential world on its own??? Did Duncan know it was fantasy or did the writer make a judgement? Shall we all cling onto a meaningless existence because we have nothing else?? (Beside war, famine, love, sickness and netflix)

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    1. Preisha Phoenix Avatar

      yes, the meaning of life is such an extremely profound topic, I’m not entirely sure if In The Subway was able to capture the essence of it!

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  2. dazzlingtraveler4e88d83b5a Avatar

    Brilliant in idea and beautifully written, keep on writing Preisha

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