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The things you don’t see
Sunday 1st October 2017 @ 5:04 pm
Recently, I stood behind a very average human, on an escalator on the London underground. He had long, shaggy, unkempt brown/ginger hair. He was average height. Average build. He wore a loose fitting cardigan – kinda hipster. And he carried a small rug–sack strapped on his back.
But something was amiss.
Something was special.
Something was happening that I couldn’t account for.
Every female (almost, every female), and many males coming down the escalator toward us, were looking at him. And a second or two after they looked at him, their face burst into a smile. One of those, honest, pleasant, contented smiles. Genuine.
As I traveled up this (seemingly endless) escalator, behind this mystery man that everyone was smiling at, my Sherlock took over.
Who IS this?
Is he famous? He must be massively famous to have this recognition from everyone But he he looks scraggly. He must be a British movie star … or pop star. The hipster–hero type.
OOorrrrr – he’s just one of those incredibly beautiful people. Women look at him and crumble …
Jeepers … WHO IS THIS?!?!
We approached the top of the escalator. We walked off, and I quickened my pace, so I could draw level and see this wonder of a human.
And then I saw.
A decidedly plain, unshaven, 30–something, standard hipster type.
I must confess to being a little disappointed. I had expected so much more. I had expected at least a gasp of recognition or a gawk at celebrity.
And then I saw it.
The reason for the melting faces – the eyes that shone, and the mouths that turned up at the corner while the lips slightly parted …
A puppy.
This human had a puppy strapped to his chest – and was carrying like it was a little baby.
And the puppy seemed to be smiling at everyone.
And I laughed out loud.
Internally.
And I giggled at my own presumptions. And I realized that not everything is always as it looks. And I felt chastised, vindicated, amused and educated all at once.
And my eyes shone, the corners of my turned up, my lips parted slightly and I properly smiled.
And it felt good.
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