Tissue

I walked into the metro train and took a seat. I saw her and her husband sitting diagonal from me. I could see from her eyes that she had been crying. I saw her husband reach down and gently rub her hand to console her; which made her tear up even more. She reached into her purse to search for something but came out empty handed. She wiped the tears from her face with her hands. I felt empathy for her since that had been my exact state 15 minutes prior to leaving campus. I reached into my bag, pulled out three small tissues from a pack which I carry with me all the time. I walked to her and without any words or eye contact, simply handed them to her. She accepted them without looking up at me. I sat back down in my seat, closed my eyes and listened to my music, leaving them to whatever they were going through at that moment. The husband exited the train a stop before her. She sat there quietly, staring out into the darkness as the train moved again. The next stop was hers. She left without exchanging eye contact with me. Maybe her fears were the same as mine. Maybe she was afraid that if she looked me in the eye, I might have figured out what she was thinking.