This piece describes the vivid experience which you would experience when riding the MTR.
Rushing into the bleeping train, I shoved my sweaty and sticky elbow into the crowd trying to ensure that I make it in time for my class, just like every rush-hour-weekday-morning, where there is no way in except for a battle with the oncoming wave of passengers trying to squeeze out the gates of hell.
The train reaches light speed as it leaves the station; in a blink of an eye it arrives at the next station where the tides interchange through the gates. It is not the duration of 20 minutes that makes the train ride unbearable, but it is the swarm of people and the limited space that makes it intolerable. I feel small in this cabin full of properly dressed business men/women mixed in with the myriad of students trying to get to school. These fatigued individuals come in all shapes and sizes. Some of them have ties on that choke their necks like leashes; others try to elevate themselves with stilettos while straddling their lifeline trying not to fall into the void that is life. The cage could not contain the sheer amount of people. Nonetheless, they continue to flood in.
Without any indication, the train skidded and jerked throwing people off balance. A man’s brown, beaten up briefcase bumbled in between people’s legs. He desperately grasped for it while other people shot him dirty looks. His face turned as red as a Chanel lipstick, and he hopped off the train the moment it reached the next station.
Even though the train was air conditioned, the heat was still excruciating as I rub against a paunchy man with his belly piercing out from the bottom of his XXXL shirt. He was sweating profusely and repeatedly wiped at his forehead with an oversized handkerchief. When I bumped against him, I could feel him breathing into the back of my neck. The morning breath was very evident as it lingered in the air. I tried to avoid him by reaching for a handle which was slightly out of reach, and luckily the Red Sea parted and I was able to depart from Egypt.
I shook with excitement as the train approached the station. After a good 20 minutes of being squished, trying to breathe and insufferable heat, I was finally able to get out of there. I live another day, and tomorrow, there is another battle waiting to be fought.
Jacob's College Writing Blog 