Gemotions

The subway car was packed, the rhythmic clatter of the train a percussive beat to the anxiety thrumming in his veins. Every cough, every sigh, every hurried footstep sent a jolt of alarm through him. He kept his bag tight against his chest, shield against the unknown.

Then he saw it: a small, almost imperceptible tremor in the hand of the woman next to him. He recognized it.

Their eyes met, and in that shared moment of recognition, a silent acknowledgement passed between them. A weary understanding, and a new kind of wariness.