Mind the Gap By Joe Hakim

It's unnatural, all of us crammed in like last minute revision. As I hurtle towards my destination, I'm surrounded by people with headphones stuffed into their ears to block out the noise, all staring at a fixed point on the floor trying not to meet anyone's gaze; desperately trying not to acknowledge one another, desperately trying to shut the world out. All of these people trying to be invisible. It's ridiculous, We Are Ridiculous, and I have to fight the urge to laugh in everyone's face. And as I try to stifle a grin, I look up and I see her. I see her caramel skin and milk chocolate hair, I see her arms folded across a canary yellow top I see her legs emerge from her skirt like a run of good luck.

And she sees me. She looks me in the eye and she sees me smiling and she smiles back and for a moment we connect, both sensing the absurdity of the situation, sharing it like a private joke. And in that moment I want her so much - and in that moment I would give anything in the world to be near her, because she isn't afraid to exist, and her smile reminds me that I exist. As I approach my stop I get up and take a final look at her before I leave, let her crystallise in my mind and become a memory, a reminder that in the space within the gaps between us all there's still enough room for a little bit of hope.

Copyright © Joe Hakim 2008

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