Glass

It's amazing to sit in one place and watch everyone else rushing around you. Separated by only one pane of well-cleaned glass, it's hard to accept that you're actually removed.

People rush by, some of them so colorful that you look twice - and then again, and again. Some of them so drab it makes you wonder. Facial expressions vary from happy to sad to angry to absolute and perfect neutrality. And while the ones with the blank faces make you think, you find yourself watching the ones with clearly defined emotions the most.

Is the happy girl, dressed in blue and white, smiling in the middle of a thick crowd of friends, really as true as her smile? Is the sullen girl dressed in black and avoiding everyone's eyes really so sad? Will she turn a corner and see a friend, casting off the mask as she runs to throw her arms around him?

What's fascinating is that every person walking down the littered sidewalk has a story and a pivotal, defining moment in their lives. And a mind, a certain way of thinking. The girl in generic designer blue-and-white may be too afraid to distance herself from the oppressive and demanding clique, and the girl in black may just find that that particular color does justice to her features.

Whether remarkable or plain, happy or sad, everyone you see has a story to tell you. And half the time, it will make you cry.

And you, separated from them by that pane of glass, feel that if you could only follow them longer, you would learn it all.