ג'ואנה

    - 'Its starting to look a bit like a ghost town, huh?' she asked the person next to her, a small smile.

Christmas was never something that was celebrated in the Lewe household growing up. However, starting in high school, Joanna loved going to the city's holiday celebrations. She particularly loved the ice skating rink that was only there this time of the year. That is exactly where she was now, skating freely but not necessarily gracefully around the rink. She heard a shout, a child expressing their joy of being in the snow, and was distracted enough that she bumped into someone else.          -"I am very sorry," the apology very sincere as she reached to steady both of them. "Skating on ice wit a lot of people is not the time to be distracted." It was a small attempt at a joke, and she hoped it smoothed over any ruffled feathers.

images of memories mixed with emotions and wishes flashed through Joanna’s mind as she leaned against the train window. The quiet whispers of the other train riders as well as the soft lull of the train made the perfect environment to fall asleep. Which is exactly what Joanna Lewe did - an act so unlike her, falling asleep in a public place. Too exposed, so vulnerable. After the past week, however, she found it hard to stay awake during the day.  It was not until someone cleared their throat that Joanna started to come back to reality. Still not fully awake, she blinked up at the person who was responsible for her waking up, their face still blurry from her sleep.   - very slight panic caused her heart to pick up its pace...panic from the confusion of where she was that was caused by her groggy state and panic of missing her stop.  “What stop are we at?”