There's always a train back

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you that I was this close to getting off that train,” I said, shaking my head with a quiet sigh of exasperation.

“How did you even screw up so badly?” my friend asked from the other end of the phone, as I navigated through a busy platform filled with people – people I could only imagine were returning from work.

“I blame that awesome chicken sandwich,” I replied.“To be fair, I was kinda hungry after walking around New York all day. But the minute I finished my sandwich and put my AirPods in on the train, I knew I was gonna screw up. Still, I guess I had too much faith in myself. After all, this is the first time I’ve missed my stop.”

“I’m glad you didn’t try to jump out of the train or do something you coded when you realized,” my friend said, clearly smirking on the other end.

“You know what the worst part is? I knew it was my stop moments before the door closed. I just… couldn’t get myself to move from that seat. I had to sit there and watch the RWJ building slowly pass me through the window. The helplessness was – well –horrible.”

The train was still on the track. The exit I needed was a short walk away.

I continued.“Well, I guess it wasn’t so bad after all. I was super pissed when I realized what I’d done. I was tired, and I just wanted to be home. But I guess life had other plans.”

“What is not bad about missing your stop on a late-night train, dude? Didn’t you have to walk half a mile and get another train back?” my friend asked, clearly confused.

“Well… I guess I saw a lot of things because I missed my stop. I saw a raccoon jump out of a trash can. I heard a kid asking for his birthday present. I heard two middle-aged dudes talk about investing. I even found a new ice cream shop inside the station. I mean – none of that would’ve happened otherwise.”

“Besides,” I added, “it’s not like I had much of a choice in the matter.”

“Tempting to just sit in that train and see where the line ended, though.”I smiled a little.“I met a group of people who were on that train till the last stop. Trust me, I wanted to stay on that train and get to know all of them and their stories better. But I knew it wasn’t what I had to do.”

I paused, then started to climb down the stairs to the street and glanced at the train fading away into the distance.“And you know... I guess the best thing one can do when they realize they missed their stop is enjoy the ride till the next stop where you can get off. There's always a train back my guy.”

“All because of a stupid sandwich, bro. I swear,” my friend said sarcastically before hanging up.