Dour, Carlita stared at the dirty floor of the 1 train. Mindless at this part of her commute, the filth of it had become pedestrian when up bubbled a penny-sized pimple in the rubber. Quickly, hundreds more followed. Carlita gurgled in horror as they pulsated like breaths. Something was alive underneath. Terrified, she backed into the plastic seat, girding for an eruption of centipedes, roaches, baby rats or whatever infestation the city grew in its dank depths.
The first dome burst and Carlita gulped. From the darkness of its half centimeter tear something pushed up, dark green at first then emerald. A bulbous protrusion. She feared a hybrid organism had spent 100 years learning to live off machine oil, human garbage and 625 volts. New York’s monster to the 1 train’s Frankenstein.
One after another, the sacs tore open. Carlita’s stomach roiled. She’d be overrun in moments. The first bulb exploded. She yelped. It was here. But from inside the green slick skin something white unfolded: a double petal flower that reached towards the false fluorescent life above.
Shame washed over her. Why had horror been her only possibility? Across the entire car floor the filthy, black vinyl was being overrun by hundreds of invading flowers.
Embarrassed, Carlita lifted her feet to avoid harming the fledgling creatures and giggled, imagining each had a name; these children in a playground they’d all just discovered.
“242nd Street. Last stop.”
She sighed being unable to share this wonderment. She longed to stay but the subway ground to a halt and the doors opened.
“Thank you for riding NYC transit.”
Tip toeing past, she swore the petals waved goodbye in flicks and wobbles. The doors closed and she stood alone, sorrowful, on the platform.
Sat in her car, Carlita lowered the windows and the spring breeze pushed out stale forgotten McDonalds suffocating lemon air freshener.
Reliving the miracle just passed, an explosion of hopefulness erupted within her. It was the season of change. For an hour she remained to let her mind flood with possibilities of better things and a better life…and how, really, it was all actually possible.