Maria Timeea Budin participates in the „Short prose” section of the International Literary Creation Competition, 4th edition, from Târgu Mureș, Romania. Maria Timeea is 15 years old and she is guided by professor Cristina Poruțiu. We thank her for her participation and wish her success.

				                                                                       	The metro

           Fifth of September, 2019. The girl with brown hair could finally hear the sound of the metro's brakes squealing. It was a usual Monday morning: everyone was in a hurry to arrive at work on time. Except for the girl with brown hair. She was not hurrying at all. She just wanted to meet one of her friends at a restaurant on the edge of town.
           While she was slowly advancing through the crowd, a blonde lady dressed in black pushed her. "Why can't people just excuse themselves and walk peacefully without hurting others? I swear to God, it seems everyone lost their manners!" the brown-haired girl thought.
           Little did she know about the woman: two weeks ago, she was driving her daughter to school when her worst nightmare became a reality: a drunk driver crashed into her car. She miraculously escaped without a scratch, but her daughter wasn't so lucky. The young girl got into a coma… Oh, and what a girl! She was just 11, but her mind was like a diamond! She was the only reason her mother was still alive after losing her husband. One hour ago, the doctors had called: her daughter lost the battle… The lady was now on her way to the hospital, with her heart shattered.
           Maybe this was the reason why she forgot her manners, who knows! The brunette was now sitting on a plastic chair, texting her friends, when a corpulent woman that seemed to be in her thirties asked her if she could let her sit down. She got so angry at her!
            "No! Go find another seat; I am also tired!" she responded. 
           The young woman was not tired, actually, just a little nauseous. She just found out that she was pregnant! She decided to buy a cake for when her fiancé arrived from work. A couple of weeks ago, the woman lost her baby, so she was so excited when the test came out positive. This time, she was sure that she would be able to hold her baby without any problems. Since she miscarried, the young woman had been struggling with depression… She was also going to therapy, but now all her pain seemed gone. 
           Suddenly, she decided to phone her mother to announce the big news. Before even greeting her, she told her about the new family member. The girl with brown hair heard the discussion. She started feeling guilty… But she could sense that the woman was feeling well, so there was no reason to let her have her seat. After all, she was not sick or anything, right?
           After a couple of minutes, the brunette was disturbed by a teenager. The young girl was crying. Her voice was so irritating! Sighing, the brown-haired lady put on her headphones. 
           The teenager knew her situation's awkwardness, but she could not stop crying. She just found out that her boyfriend of one year had been cheating on her for the past two months. She dreamed about marrying him and having a family… But now she was broken. Added to her sorrow was everyone hearing her, and now her makeup was destroyed. How could she show up at school like this? How could she confront her boyfriend? And the worst part was that he stood beside her in every class! She was also stressed about her math test. Poor girl…
           The metro reached the first stop. The blonde woman dressed in black, the corpulent woman, and the teenager hopped off. 
           "Finally, some silence!" the brunette thought. Just then, a man dressed in bizarre, colorful clothes sat next to the girl with brown hair. She started laughing uncontrollably. Embarrassed, the man stood up and began to search for another seat.
            He was a pediatrician. He was heading home after a fantastic day at work: he declared one of his little patients cancer-free! He never wears grave clothes because he thinks that colors scare illnesses away. How adorable is that! After all, not every heroes wear capes, right?
           Finally, the girl with brown hair stopped laughing. "What a weird man!" she thought. She threw her headphones back in her purse and stared into the darkness of the tunnel the metro was going through. She almost fell asleep, but just then, the subway stopped. The bizarre man left. Two teenagers entered: a short red-haired girl and a blonde guy. The redhead sat next to the brown-haired lady while the guy was standing, holding her hand. They caught the brunette's attention. She was listening to them talk about how happy they were to skip school to go to a café. Apparently, the girl's name was Lily, while his name was Thomas. 
           "We share the same name!" the brunette thought. "Lily fits her better than it fits me, though," she continued while paying attention to their discussion. They were ninth graders; Thomas was a football player, while his girlfriend was a cheerleader. They met at practice and fell in love at first sight. Teen romance…
           All of a sudden, the metro stopped, and the couple left. Lily's attention was stolen by a man who had just entered the train. He looked earnest; he even frightened her a little. 
           He remained up, continuing to intimidate the brown-haired lady. The truth about him was that he was going to a job interview. He used to have his own business, but unfortunately, it was bought by another company. Now, he had to rebuild his life. 
           A young lady with purple hair and loose clothes sat before Lily. She gave her some dirty looks, but she did not even care. She just opened her laptop and started working.
           This strange-looking girl was, in fact, the best architect in town. There were multiple interviews with her, and she was famous for her unique designs. She was young, but that aspect never stopped her from achieving her goals.
           Lily could hear the metro's brakes squealing once again. This time it was her turn to leave the metro. He jumped out of her seat and walked towards the exit while thinking about those weird people. Anyways, now she's going to meet her friend and forget about those humans, who will continue to be as misunderstood as they were on the fifth of September 2019.