It’s Been a Long Winter

 
Sunny days remain a blur as more rains are expected to come next week. Perhaps it’s time to say enough is enough! This season has already made a lot of people miserable and susceptible to cold, flu, fever, sore throat, and while I’m on it, bronchitis. This sad state of affairs is more evident to commuters like me.

In the train that I take everyday, you see people in various stages of disease. It’s quite easy to spot them. Do they smell of mint or cough drops? Do they wear an extra layer of clothing? Do their faces show the sign of an impending sneeze? Do you see a red nose that looks like it’s been invaded by a pimple? If your answer to any of these questions is a ‘yes’, by Jove you’ve got it. Another giveaway is to look into their hands. One hand will be wearing a glove while the other will be bare so the fingers can hold the tissue more securely for the nose blowing contest. Yet another is a pair of red, watery eyes, but you can’t see that because they’ll be wearing sunglasses. On a dark and wintry day? you tell me.

I thought I’d be safe from the usual winter maladies this year but my luck seemed to have run out. Yesterday, I was seated in a crowded train when a fellow commuter standing beside me started coughing. I knew she was trying to hold it but to no avail. In fact, it might have made the coughing worse. Throughout the trip she was coughing. From time to time there would be a lull but the coughing would eventually continue with other passengers joining with their unique coughing styles. It was a total nightmare. I never felt so relieved to arrive at my station.

Last night, I found myself coughing incessantly in bed I must have awakened the whole neighborhood. I was also overcome by a feeling of guilt. I should have offered my seat to the sick lady, but I chose to take a nap instead. I deserved what I got. I didn’t behave like a true gentleman. I think my contrition was so sincere I was saved. I felt better when the morning came and was able to go to work.