Day in and day out, I use the subway to travel around the city; every ride reminds me how different life is in a city; depending on my mood, I classify it as either ‘the chaos of the city’ or ‘the hustle of the city’ I like. Today was more like the ‘chaos of the city’ day. My manager thought it would be a great idea to keep me in the office late until 8 pm on a Friday for a project to go live on the following Monday; when did she come up with this request, you may ask? It was at 5 pm, just before I shut my laptop; I wish I were lightning fast to close it, just like the flash.

What tops my Friday again? I was stuck in the subway between two stops in the tunnel, the doors were shut tight, and my patience was wearing off.  To calm myself down, I began to look around to observe people, a few drunk faces, a few tired faces, and a few a mixture of annoyed and tired faces just like mine. My gaze moved to the adjacent seat; a fluttering paper was on an envelope. I know I need to mind my own business and respect privacy, but I had all the time in the world; the paper looked old, tainted in brown and yellow here and there, and it read.

Dear Alisha,

Happy birthday my dear! I’m in Toronto, the city you longed to visit, the city you always raved about because your best friend once lived in this city from whom you picked up the Canadian Eh!

My trip is short in this city, but I wish I could show you how wonderful I feel being here; I’ve slipped a few Polaroid photos I took in the envelope, they are not the best photos with bright colors, but I hope you like them.

It has been two years since we met, and my heart aches to know that we are so far apart yet so close somehow; I love you.. I love you so much. Your support made me successful, and your absence somehow made me question that success, but I have you with me in my spirit and heart.

I miss you. Happy birthday eh! See you in heaven when I can.

Love

John

And that letter somehow gave me and the subway momentum on a long Friday night.

Samanvitha Orugant is an avid storyteller who likes narrating stories about people, emotions, and places. She believes our world has innumerable tales, some hidden, some not, but all waiting to be told. She can be reached via email at samanvita.krishna@gmail.com