Man Like Me

Robert was inside the bus and as it stopped on a lighter, he looked out the window to be was greeted by the warm Sun rays. He smiled and thanked himself mentally for remembering to bring his sunglasses. Then he watched people walking down the street, minding their own business, some running, some just walking. Then he glanced at the sea and the bus restarted its journey, in a few minutes he reached the bus station, where he got out and walked to the train station, that was just a few minutes away.

’10 am’ he double-checked his watch, he had to wait 20 minutes for the next train but he didn’t mind, he wasn’t in a hurry. So he started to advance in the platform and he stopped near a bench, sitting on it. In front of him and a few meters away, outside the perimeter of the train station, were some buildings with local shops, an ice-cream stand, a kiosk, a couple of beautiful, big houses and most importantly the beach. Those people are so lucky’ He thought, because he wished he could afford such a house, well he could, but he was a lonely man, so living in an extremely big house wasn’t a positive move for him to make.

He sighed as he heard the train start to approach when suddenly a young girl sat beside him on the bench and his smile grew even bigger because he recognized her. He had noticed her a year ago when he realized that she went on the same train as he every single day. She seemed to be about 20 years old and she was in college, he had noticed that she was always reading a new book or photocopies from her faculty, so he assumed that she was still studying. They always sat in different places, but he always made sure to sit on the opposite side, so he could look at her. Somehow, she seemed very interesting and appealing to him. She was always listening to music, she seemed so deep in her own world that Robert never had the chance to start conversation with her. He also loved to read and he found her taste of books very interesting for such a young woman. He wondered what music she listened to and he wanted to talk with her about it, he was sure that there was something in common between them in that field too. Robert was confident about himself but he didn’t have the courage to just go up to her and start a random talk. He was afraid of what she would think about him, of how she would react and of how people around them would react when they saw a 33 year-old guy trying to make conversation with a girl much younger than him.

Suddenly she sighed and opened a movie magazine she had resting on her lap. Her long brown hair was tied in a high-ponytail and she wasn’t wearing shades as usual. She was wearing casual clothes, her style was simple but Robert thought that made her even more attractive, he liked to try and imagine how she would dress for a friend’s party or any other event.

Then her phone started to vibrate and she picked it up “Hey Bro.” She smiled instantly.

Robert was with mixed feelings: Hearing her voice left him in bliss, she had the sweetest voice and she spoke so softly and so gracefully. But on the other hand ‘Hey Bro’ meant that there was a guy calling her. Robert was curious about whether she had a boyfriend or an older brother. She didn’t wear any commitment rings and he never saw any ‘love’ bites or bruises on her neck. She always went alone on the train and it was very rare for her phone to ring. Robert seemed to be the man who stared at her the most, he was conscious of that. There were many young guys that went on the train, but she would simply glance at them and if she found them cute, she could stare for a minute but then she would return to her world. On the other side, guys rarely stared at her or sat next to her, it was like she didn’t exist. They noticed her but they would just swing by. Robert didn’t understand why and he was a man. In his eyes she seemed perfectly pleasant and she was attractive.

“Yes, I’m going on the 10:20 am train. Are you late?” He heard her ask, there was disappointment in her voice but she tried to hide it with a cheerful tone of voice.

Robert was now staring at the other side, resisting his urge to stare at her because he didn’t want to seem rude so he was pretending to mind his business.

“Well yeah, I have your drawings… You still have about 10 minutes left… okay, see you in a few minutes.”



Robert could barely hold himself. Next to the mysterious girl was a young guy with dirty blonde hair and brown eyes. They were extremely close and seemed to be bonded by a very strong friendship, nevertheless, Robert wondered if they secretly loved each other but never told one another.

He was jealous. That guy was able to make her laugh, they discussed his drawings skills (he was apparently in the Arts Faculty) and she kept motivating him into getting a part-time job to get a new car. Robert wished he had someone to have those conversations with, someone who would encourage him. But their conversation was starting to piss him off because that guy seemed to take her for granted. He didn’t seem to value her, as much as, she valued him and she was putting a lot of effort into keeping him positive while he only talked about himself, Robert noticed that she also seemed in need of talking with someone.

The train took 45 minutes to get to the capital and after 25 minutes of journey they arrived at Anthony’s station and Penelope said goodbye to him. She sat back comfortably on her seat and noticed how quiet it was, Kyle and her had been making all the noise. Around her were about other 4 people, including a man she recognized. She had a photographic memory and she knew he went on that train with her every day. She assumed that he was about 10 years older than her but she still couldn’t figure out what job he had, because he had a very casual style. She felt, deeply inside herself, that the strange man was sexy and handsome. She loved his hair and his beard and he seemed like a person she could talk to, he seemed intelligent and polite but also lonely. But she would never start a conversation with a stranger. She was just too shy.

If Robert could stop time on that moment he would. The guy was gone and the girl was staring at him. He was trying not to get too excited because he knew that could freak her out. So he casually looked at her and smiled. She seemed to wake up from her trance, smiled back and then returned to reading her magazine.