There I was, on my normal routine.

Black pants. Dull grey dress shirt. Black tie. Black shoes. Suitcase.

Everyone else on the subway wore the same thing.

A mundane sea of grey underneath the dim sun of the flickering lights.

My normal routine was like this everyday.

Wake up, eat a bowl of cereal. Shower, brush, shave.

Clothes. Same monotonous hues. Lackluster, but necessary.

I'd get on the subway to work. Like everybody else, it was a normal business job in a normal skyscraper in this normal city.

I sat in a normal cubicle and did my normal daily tasks.

The weeks were a blur. The days, even moreso. Seasons came and went. Age was just a counter for how long I've endured this routine.

But not today.

You were there.

It started out like any other day on the subway.

Except the second stop brought an unusual palette to the monotony.

You wore a yellow overcoat with pink flower buttons.

Your hair, silver like the moon with a flash of cobalt down one side.

Imprinted on your rainbow purse was a name. Probably yours.

Hope.

It looked like a unicorn threw up onto a hand bag.

It was utterly repulsive to look at, yet...

I was stunned. Staring. Gazing.

You were beaming. Seemed to be listening to music.

The subway car reeked of the underground, of dead mice and of rotten sewage.

It was cold, damp, and crowded.

It anger me how you could be smiling.

Yet I felt relieved.

Your eyes met mine. You smiled more, giggled slightly as you waved.

I blushed, turned away.

The next stop.

I looked back.

You were gone.

The routine continued as normal.

Except it didn't.

Halfway through my normal day, doing my normal office things in my normal office cubical, again you appeared.

An intern, probably.

You were running around, papers in your hand.

Again I stared, lost from the world and placed into yours.

You stared back, surprised that we both met again.

Crash.

You knocked into someone.

Papers everywhere, apologies spilt.

I wanted to go help you.

I yearned to be like you.

I wanted to be different.

But I didn't.

You gathered up your mess, and hopped over to me.

My heart jumped into my throat.

Still cheerful.

Out of breath.

Hand outstretched.

Your eyes were electric blue.

Glimmering like the sea.

Your nose was small, red from breathlessness.

So was I.

An aroma of lavender and berries wafted through the air.

The smell was sweet.

I couldn't speak.

Your hand was outstretched.

I just noticed there was something in it.

A paper, for me.

I took it, not breaking eye contact. She nodded, smiled, and continued on her routine.

I slowly looked down at the letter.

It was from the boss.

I opened and read it.

My routine was no longer.

The next day I packed my bags.

I was transferred to a different branch of the company in a different city on a different part of the world.

They treated like it was a promotion.

It really wasn't.

I settled in quickly, creating a sort of routine.

This city was not as dull., the train was above ground, there were more mountains.

But it was all the same.

Wake up. Eat. Shower. Leave. Work. Return. Sleep.

It was all the same.

Except I never saw you again.

And as different as you were,

I wish that was the same.

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