she started talking as soon as she got on the train at jay st. or maybe she was talking before and just continued once she was on. she was definitely not talking to herself but wasnt really talking to anyone in particular, at least not in the beginning. she went on about someone pressing charges, how they have been after her and wouldnt leave her alone, how she has no food, no money, how she had been in a battered women's shelter, but they still came after her, how other women were after husband, how jamaicans had put voodoo curses on her husband, but her husband wouldnt leave her. it wasnt a sob story by any means, she wasnt doing it to ask for money or any handouts.

i looked around, avoiding eye contact as people are generally accustomed to do in these situations. the others did the same, occasionally glancing her way, trying to avoid any confrontation. especially in an enclosed space like a subway car, during rush hour, going through a tunnel underwater.

at times, it almost felt like a spoken-word performance, like something you'd see on def poetry jam - loud, passionate, real. i wanted to look at her. not to stare, but because i was really listening. at some point she started talking about being a nurses aide. and i wasnt quite sure how it all fit into the picture until I saw the woman sitting down in front of her in light blue srcubs reading a book on sonography. she had started addressing her directly, calling her a west african whore - "like the ones that were trying to steal her husband". the other woman kept a "yeah whatever" expression on her face and looked away and around, trying to ignore the verbal assault that she was now enduring.

I was standing near the door when the train stopped at broadway/nassau, i pushed myself towards the side to let people off. the woman in scrubs started walking out while the insults kept on coming. when she got a few feet away from the train she turned around, knowing that there was enough space between her and the passengers inside the train and started to defend herself. "im no nurses aide!, i TEACH nurses aides!" she said as she started walking away. the doors stayed open and 5 seconds a police officer strolled up to the side of the subway car door.

she got a little quiet when she noticed the officer standing outside the train. he stood outside the train, next to the door and gave her a come here motion with his hand. "can i talk to you for a second?" he asked her. she replied saying that she was just riding the train to go see her father, there was a nervous tremble in her voice. he stood there, and a few seconds later was joined by another officer, and then another one some more seconds later. I was still standing next to the door and moved inward and to the side. Two officers then stepped into the train and walked towards her. they asked her to step off the train, she maintained that she was just trying to visit her father but soon gave in and walked off the train. As one of the officers walked off the train, he turned to me and asked, "Was she being loud? was she making a lot of noise?

"She was just talking", I said, but as the words came out of my mouth, I nodded and I think that was all the officer needed to see. The officers deboarded, the doors closed and the train started moving again. but I felt guilty, like I had just ratted her out like she was someone who had made my ride unpleasant which was the furthest thing from the truth.