Throats cleared, feet shuffled, "Excuse me.."s were murmured. Brief cases were picked up, Bodies slid past one another, butts planted into thinly cushioned seats, and after there was the low buzz of music slipping out of headphones. A comfortable silence that was disturbed by the hum of the train station.
Please stand clear of the closing doors please.. Bing. Bong..
Doors slid closed moments before the train whirred and lurched forward into a crawl that gradually increased into a smooth run.
In the middle, of the front end, of the 18th train car was a pair of double back to back seats. A girl with smooth caramel colored skin and dark hair that was pulled into a bulb of bouncy and hydrated curls, looked up at the LED sign that smoothly displayed the upcoming destination. Her bronze eyes watched the words enter from the left side, slide across, and disappear to the right on a loop. She watched it rotate about 3 times before she puffed her cheeks and let out a soft and silent wind of air through her lips.
Pene Michaels was on her way to Central Park for her "every-other-day-routine". Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. It was a routine that her mother, her job, and her close friends applauded. The people of New York City didn't enjoy it so much, but it brought her a peace of mind and comfort. Sitting up from her slouched over position, she hugged the big black bag that was sitting in her lap. The item was about the size of her torso and seemed to contain something that filled it completely. Not only did she hug it a little closer to give her tired shoulder a bit of work, but she hugged it because the people of New York were greedy and slick. A big bag like hers looked like a million dollars and she looked like a naive investor.
A few minutes went by and Pene allowed herself to close her eyes while sitting in her seat. The train made her slim figure sway and shudder as it navigated the quickly deteriorating tunnels. There was a new delay everyday. If only she weren't so afraid to ride a bike in the city...
Bing. Bong.. Arriving at 112th street..
Pene sat up and gently fixed her t-shirt; which was crinkled from hugging her bag for 40 minutes. The shirt was plain except for a gold, rounded tip star that was smack in the middle. The way the star was designed was familiar to millions and earned her a lot of smiles, thumbs up, or kind pointed fingers. It was the star that represented the hit Cartoon show, "Steven Universe". Somehow, while traversing the fan pages, she'd discovered a link to ordering white versions of Steven's t-shirt. It was a lucky find and her favorite shirt. Coupled with this was burgundy converse and a pair of baby blue jeans, a little faded at the joints, with thin rips on the thighs. After another minute of sitting, Pene Michaels stands up while carefully sliding her bag onto her shoulders by the straps and adjusting the pulleys to her liking. Many others rise after her in anticipation of their stop. 112th Street .
*****
"I swear that lady is going to have to get off of her phone because that coffee was way too fresh.." Pene mumbled to herself about the world's micro-micro-problems, a habit of hers to cope with her extreme and constant worried thoughts. Talking always made people feel less stressed. But no one was around so she mumbled it to herself. While shaking her head, her hands comfortably holding the tops of the bag straps, the sections closer to her shoulders, Pene finally ended her long walk from the busy train station to the significantly less populated Central Park.
She took a deep inhale and enjoyed the one source of clean air in the city. She closed her eyes. She relaxed. She relished in the fact that no one was around throwing frisbees, playing with dogs, riding bikes, or ripping and running around, or..-
"Okay. Pen." She suddenly broke her silence, a little curtly. She often had to stop her thoughts right where they were and out loud. Just thinking the words didn't do much because one could argue with themselves forever in their head. Starting up her walk again, but with a more relaxed stride, she made her way from the South-Western entrance and to a spot that was closer to the Middle-East entrance. Pene took off her backpack with a grateful sigh and found a patch of grass to set it down on while rolling her shoulders. She was in an open space with some shrubs and a few benches. She liked the spot a lot, and had taken it as her own on these special "every-other-day-routine"s. Out from her bag, Pene pulled out a set of bowls. They were massive in size but all the same, so they sat inside of each other. Relaxed, she took each one out and set it up a few paces away from herself. She then reached in her bag and pulled out the thing that was giving it so much shape.
A half filled bag of Cat Food.
With a small huff, she went to the two bowls and slowly, steadily, began pouring the food. She made sure it was slow so that each pellet hitting the metal item made that signature tingling sound. As she went about, she called. "Come now kitties! Psss Pssss! Come on Kittiiies! Pssss! Pssss!" she called again and again until her intended crowd started streaming towards her from every direction. They mewled, cried, and rubbed against her legs as they crowded the two bowls she was filling. Each halfway. Her crowd came in a myriad of cat colors. Grey, Orange, Brown, Blue, White, Black, Calico, Stripped, Patchy, Boots, Long hair, Fluffy tails. There were many and they were all settling down to eat.
Once Pene finished filling the bowls, she rolled up the bag of Cat Food and put it back into her backpack, it was significantly smaller. She then picked up the bag and retreated to a nearby bench, smiling to herself as she watched the hungry cats eat themselves silly. This is what she did every other day of the week at the same time everyday. It was what warmed her heart and made her comfortable. Tipping her head, she watched as more of her regulars came running along with their quick little cat feet and kindly slid into place where they could.
Pene humphed in content.