SAD STRANGER

Today, I got off the train and crossed the tracks to the “To New York” side of the tracks where my car was parked. It was getting dark, but I saw a teenage boy with a bookbag waiting for a train. I could tell he didn’t take the train regularly. He was standing by the train schedule sign. As I was passing him, I noticed he was crying but trying not to get noticed. My heart sank and my mind started spinning and imagining all these stories. What if he just got dumped, poor kid? What if he got into a fight with his parents and is running away from home? The minute that thought crossed my mind, I stopped in my tracks and turned around. For a second there, I wanted to be that socially awkward person, the type that butts into other people’s business. I wanted to tell him to go home, that it was okay. But what if my assumptions were wrong? What if he just cursed me out and told me to go away? I knew that I would never have the courage to go up to a crying teenage boy as a stranger and say anything. I thought about him the entire way home (2 min). And now I’m writing a post about the guy. I hope he’s okay. It’s okay to cry, but I hope he comes home happy.