A Real Hero - Short Story

My third day at work ended late, three and a half hours late. I noticed how vast the spaces were. The hallways. well lit and all, were caves of silence. At the lobby there were two other people waiting for the lift, thankfully. A cleaning crew alighted as we entered the lift. I did not know them, the building was seven stories tall and six of them were offices. Hundreds of people worked here.

The old gent said good night as two of us alighted at the floor level, he had a a vehicle parked in the basement, probably.
It was dark and cool outside. There was traffic of course but it seemed sparse enough to keep tracts of the footpath dark for a few moments, between street lights.

At the corner, my nameless colleague waved a short bye. Pointing in the direction he was headed. I made my way to the station. Here there were lots of people around, thankfully. I felt better amongst the chattering students and tired employees. A few girls huddled in groups, Two ladies exchanging snacks while waiting for the local Metro.

The Local I was waiting for was still 12 minutes to come. In this time three other locals came and left. Disgorging a handful of passengers while taking away many. By the time my local arrived there were hardly a dozen of us waiting. And I was the only one climbing into the carriage nearest to me. There were four people in the carriage. Four men. One stout man with a receding hairline talking on his mobile. Three rough types, tatoos and chains, playing cards.

My destination was the fifth stop- fourteen minutes. I sat on the seat across the aisle from the stout man. I felt self- conscious being the only woman there. My one hand automatically adjusted my jacket while the other clutched at the purse in my lap. I noticed two of the card players turn to look at me. I took a deep breath and ignored them. Three stops passed by, suddenly the card players burst into laughter. I invariably looked at them, all of them were looking at me. the fifth stop came and the stout man got up.

My heart was beating very fast. I was new here and if I alight I could be in more trouble. If I stay I was in trouble, most probably. But the stout man sat down across from me. He dialed a number, and without looking at me he waited for the call to connect. And then spoke, a slight smile on his face.

"Hi. Sorry, I just missed my stop. It will take me fifteen more minutes."
"No. I am fine. Bye."

Then he turned to me and said.

"My wife. She keeps tabs on me every minute, just like the police woman she was."

I smiled a bit. He nodded and then got busy with his phone. My stop arrived and I got off. The stout man also got off. I saw him wait there as I walked away. A real hero.