excerpt

A woman knocks into a man on the street.

“Sorry,” she says, then, “Wait, do I know you?”

“I don’t think so,” says the man, gathering his things from the floor.

“Yes, I think I do know you –“ He is already walking away. “Wait sorry about knocking your things over –“

He turns, grunts, turns away.

“Wait I do know you!” she cries. Recognition dawns. “You fucked my sister, and you tried to fuck me when she wasn’t around.”

He has turned, and is walking away.

“Come back here!” she yells. “You tried to fuck my sister.” He is descending the steps, going into the train station. She grabs his shoulder but he shrugs her off. She appeals to the people in the station. “He fucked my sister, and then tried to fuck me! We only got rid of him when my sister tried to kill him and kicked him out of the house!”

“Good thing too,” came a sympathetic reply from a passer by, appraising the man’s receding form.

“Best put it behind you,” said another.

“Help me, hey, stop you bastard,” she says, still following him onto the platform. Almost everybody ignores her, as they walk on, walk along, walk away.

“You fucked my sister and tried to do me too,” she says quietly, as he squeezes onto the train. They face each other.

“This isn’t your train,” he says. “You’re late for work.”

“I know.”

“Stop this.”

“I won’t.”

The doors close. They are separated by the glass.

“You can’t hide forever, father.”