  A train ride. A Mass Rapid Transit train, zooming on the railways elevated from the ground. It storms through the air, and the rumblings reverberate throughout the entire area. Inside, people are sitting in comfort, oblivious to the other's behaviours. A woman drops her bag of oranges, some turn their heads to look at the fallen fruits, others start falling asleep. She scrambles over to pick the fruits and chases a rolling fruit relentlessly. A bunch of boys stare at the woman's clumsiness, attempting to stifle a laugh.
While I, can only watch her, with half a mind to want to help her but, the orange fruits seemed to be too far from my reach... And then, in comes a couple, with a lovely little boy in the hands of the mother. They look for a seat, and find one empy one beside a man. The mother sits down with her child all cuddled up in her arms. As if knowingly, the man beside her suddenly stood up and gave way to the husband who was carry a bag of baby products. They smile at each other and the man walks over to the door and turns and looks at the baby. The baby was smiling and babbling away, looking around intendedly, as if he had accidentally stepped into wonderland. A shrill cry came out from the baby's mouth, and the mother lifts up a finger to quieten the baby. Many eyes turn towards the baby and the tight lines on their silent serious faces turned into jovial curves. An old woman whose legs dangled freely from the seat broke off into laughter as the child started fingering his mother's face. lA wide and tender smie appeared on the old and wrinkled face, as her face tightened and the flesh was bulging around the rim of her spectacles. She seemed to be in total comfort, despite the effort which was evident on her face. Perhaps it was the boy. Even the old man beside her, whom seemed to have a very strict face, started smiling to one side of his face, his lips growing even longer.
His eyes were of different proportions, but each possessed a look of affection. The old lady lifted her hands and waved it towards the baby, as if she was trying to reprimand the child, but with a very rosy face. The child jumped on his mother's lap and pointed towards the ceiling, he was smiling from ear to ear as he made blabbering sounds of happiness. In his excitement he had lost his balance but his mother's outstretched arms had caught him in his fall. The old lady had a transient look of anxiety and then it turned back to the smiling one as her legs rocked even freely to and fro in her seat. She seemed to treat the little boy as her own kin. A typical train ride, all too normal, nothing special.
But that train ride seemed to a be a total paradox. The coldness of the passengers towards the woman, and the affection the old lady displayed towards the child. Perhaps, the real tenderness and love was much evident in the interactions between the innocent child and the experienced elderly. My heart seemed much lighter after I had witnessed all. Somehow, the heavy burden in my heart had easened, somehow, I seemed to love my parents even more dearly. 
