Project: Socialize (Chapters 1-197)

11. Morning Commute

With my morning now back in session, I left my house and used the elevators to descend down to the first floor of our building at around 8:00 AM, joining the crowd of morning commuters. It was about late rush hour, meaning that although the streets and train stations aren't at its busiest, it is still very busy and crowded.

When I arrived at Lumina Station, the station I used to commute to school, there was a steady current of people entering and leaving. I followed the crowd that was entering the station, passing through the ticket gates in a fast and efficient fashion by using the commute pass on my phone instead of a ticket in order to not break stride. The large crowd made it so that the air around me was warm and stuffy, making it quite uncomfortable even though the air conditioning within the station was on full blast. However, the altitude difference the escalators provided allowed for a brief moment of respite as the air became less congested and allowed me valuable access to fresh air. In the end, this brief respite has to end and the escalator has to reach its destination, meaning that I will once again have to fight through the crowd.

Once I reached the platform for the elevated railways, I walked down the platform in search of the shortest line in hopes that the train car of that line will be less crowded than the others. I joined in line near the end of the platform. Not too far from me were vending machines pressed against the wall with a few benches on the right of it that was there to offer a brief moment of respite for those that are fatigued. To the left of the vending machines was the guard rails that is placed there in order to prevent anyone from accidentally falling off the edge of the elevated platform.

A gentle breeze blew by, entering the platform by the opened walls in the direction where the elevated railway entered through the middle of the two platforms. This wind, somewhat warm due to the summer sun that shined above but was still brought with it a comfortable feeling as it was cooled by the perspiration on my face. At that moment, I thanked everyone around me for their good hygiene for there were no unpleasant smells to be smelled. Rather, the different perfumes and colognes that the people wore created a mixture of pleasant scents.

Soon, the soft humming sound of the commute train became audible, and from the opened walls to my right, I could see the commute train approaching the station. The train soon slowed down to a full stop as it entered the station. Following the stop came the doors sliding open and the people within train cars slowly started to filter out of the opened doors. After the passengers that wanted to exit exited, those of us that waited squeezed onto the train car, hoping and praying that it won't be very crowded. However, we all knew that this could only be a dream and that the train cars will always be crowded during rush hour, no matter if it is early, peak, or late rush hour.

The train soon started once again following the ringing of the departure bell on the station platforms. The doors slid close and the train car started vibrating as it rolled down the rails. A soft humming sound, in addition to the audio of the news channel that was playing on the screen on the small section of the wall above the doors, filled the interior of the train car. Most of the people that were commuting to work or school all were on their phones as they awaited to arrive at their destination. Some had their earbuds plugged in, listening to music, and others stared at the screen of their devices doing whatever they were doing. As for me, I had my earbuds in my ear as I listened to music on my phone.

After the commute train stopped at a few more stations, the train car became less crowded as rush hour slowly ended. The space in the train car became more available, although no seats were. I didn't mind standing. Instead, I was grateful that I didn't have to squeeze in the large crowd for the rest of my ride.

I looked out the window of the train car at the city outside. Concrete buildings passed by as our train made its way to its next station. Soon, the jungle of concrete buildings cleared, revealing a wide, blue river whose water sparkled as the sun's rays shined down on it and was reflected off of it. This is the Helliger River, the biggest river that ran through Palisia. This river led to the Oceanus Leshius and near the mouth of the river is the small island of Palim that is connected to the mainland by a bridge.