The train. The car is half full. Or maybe half empty, who knows... I sit, looking at my feet in flip-flops, and this noisy hellish machine is taking me straight to hell. That is, to Brooklyn, sorry, my mistake...
The increased humidity on my face marked the beginning of autumn not only in New York, but also in my soul. I'm coming from the airport, what can I say. If you've been to an airport and left it not by plane, the journey is unlikely to be pleasant. And so, my soul felt heavier and more frightening with every minute, as if a shadow was slowly creeping over my heart and night was falling... In my hands, I have only a T-shirt – blue, size M – everything that is left of the dearest and most beloved person. And just half an hour ago he was with me, smiling, and the world was beautiful. And now he is gone, and that's it... It's as if the world is no longer the same, and it's as if I am no longer here either. But that's all nonsense! The most important thing is the hands. Hands – so warm, soft, strong, that hugged so tightly, stroked, tickled, tangled in my hair... they will never be near again.
I didn't even notice how tears flowed from my eyes in a stream, my little pieces of the ocean ran down my face, and I carefully collected them in the gifted T-shirt, which made it even bluer. I don't like crying in public, I really don't, but for some reason, the tears didn't ask me what I like and what I don't...
New York is the unofficial capital of America, one of the largest metropolises in the world with a population of 8,500,000. I don't know what kind of people from those eight and a half million were riding in the same car with me then. They all have their own affairs, worries, problems... But at one moment I suddenly felt that they were with me. Not just by chance happened to be nearby, but were there, like a big train family. In their eyes, I read sympathy and a desire to help. It was so touching...
A bald man came up and asked if I was okay and if I needed help. Another gentleman, getting off the train, said to me in parting: “Everything will be fine!” It was all so unusual for me, almost like a miracle! A guy sat next to me the whole way, buried in a handheld computer, apparently playing a game. Suddenly he looked at me, put his toy aside, and started rummaging through his backpack. And a minute later he takes out... a Bible! He takes it out and starts reading passages from it in a whisper. And then he says: “Whatever happens in your life, no matter how hard it is for you right now, after some time you will rejoice and laugh again. And thank fate for the challenge thrown at you.” He said this and got off at his station. And I went on, but now it was a slightly different me... Since then, these are the most important words in my life... Words heard in the New York subway from a person I never saw again.
