Member-only story
To the man on the train to Southend: I’m sorry I stole your coat
The road to Hell is paved with good intentions
It’s been long enough now, and I feel I need to get this off my chest.
It was November 2015, pitch dark and freezing cold, as I made my way home from work. I found a seat on the crowded train (nothing short of a miracle, as any London commuter will tell you) and got out a book.
The time passed quickly. As we pulled into a station I looked up at the onboard display and saw we’d arrived at the stop before mine. I settled back in my seat anticipating another 10 minutes before we arrived at my destination.
However, the board was wrong. I happened to glance out of the window and see that we were in fact already at my stop. In a panic, I started desperately rifling through the luggage rack above for my hat and scarf. I can’t remember if the man next to me actually said he hoped I found everything, but at the very least he gave me a polite “I do hope you find your things in time” kind of a look. A look of polite concern if you will. It’s a British thing.
Thankfully, I found my hat and scarf in the nick of time and leapt off the train. I saw the man who’d been sat next to me now staring at me out of the window, so to reassure him that I had in fact found my things, I held the hat and scarf aloft…
