#storiesonmrt

[ges1025-e2-c-blog]

Going somewhere?

Recently, I told myself to put down my handphone and take in my surroundings on the public transport. I saw and heard things I wouldn’t have, if I were using my phone. Alvin Pang’s Following a Train of Thought on the MRT popped up in my head while I was ‘eavesdropping’ on a conversation. 

I happened to stand in front of two girls, who were sitting down and chatting away. They were talking about their families, boys, the usual. I also found out from their conversation (I found out about it indirectly!) that the both of them were cousins from the paternal side. The thing I noticed about one of the girls was that she had an accent. It wasn’t a typical Singaporean Malay accent but rather one of a western accent (I didn’t know what specific accent it was) and her accent reminded me of my own cousin who is currently living in Canada. 

Even though we were strangers, I felt like I had a slight connection to her (the girl with the accent) at that time. It was probably because I was very close to my cousin (and yes I do miss her a lot) that I had felt this connection. Then Pang’s poem came into my mind. Specifically these lines:

[...] If the train crashed now

names would have no meaning. [...]

I had literally thought, “what would happen if the train did actually crash?”. Would I be looking at the girl (with the accent)? Would I be thinking of my cousin? My family? Or would I be just screaming and holding on to the nearby pole? 

I would never know. (And I don’t wish to find out any sooner.)

Here’s my story on the MRT, what’s yours? What do you see or hear when you put down your phone?

~@cakepiggy

Photo source:

https://instagram.com/p/4B6z0IpNHu/?taken-by=renyi_ong