G'day ,
I was at the train station, waiting to go home. As usual, I was there too early, so I stood and watched the people around me.
One train pulled in, and a lady with a pram (1) got out. She pushed the pram very close to me. I thought she was looking at something. Maybe she was looking at me, or maybe it was the information on the wall behind me.
The doors on the train she had left closed. As it prepared to leave the platform, she started looking through her bags.
Then a look of panic appeared on her face. She was looking for something and couldn't find it. I thought it might be her mobile phone.
The panic increased as she searched again. Then she told me she couldn't find her phone and asked me to call her number.
I asked her to tell me her number. She made a mistake and almost started to cry. I gave her my phone. As she took it, I could see her hands shaking.
This time, she got the number right, and the call went through. She checked her watch and knew her phone was ringing, so she went through her pockets (2) and bags until she found it.
Finally, she had it in her hand. She was very relieved (3) about her phone, but still really upset (4). She told me about how scared she was on the train because of the drunk people around her. She stopped and looked at how badly her hands were shaking.
Then she asked if she could hug (5) me. I'm not a person who hugs strangers for no reason, but I felt this lady needed it, to help calm her down. So we hugged for a few seconds. I kept telling her to relax, everything was OK. Her baby lay there, watching everything with his big blue eyes.
Then the train she needed to catch pulled in, and she got on. I think she was disappointed that it wasn't my train, too.
What would you have done, ? Woud you have called her number to help her find her phone? Would you have given her a hug?? Maybe you have to be in the situation before you know the real answer. As I said before, I wouldn't normally hug a stranger at a train station!
I hope you have a panic-free week.
Andrea
(1) pram - a little 'trolley' with wheels that you lie a small baby in so you can easily go shopping or out for a walk with the baby
(2) pockets - places in clothing (like jeans or coats) where you can put things (like a mobile phone, or your keys)
(3) relieved - happy that something bad hasn't happened. She was happy she hadn't lost her phone.
(4) upset - emotionally hurt, in pain. This lady was upset because she was afraid of the drunk people on the train.
(5) hug - to hold someone close to your body with your arms
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