Sitting on the train today, feeling gloomy when a stick thin, gaunt, eerily beautiful woman dashed into the train, curled up against the wall and started sobbing. Nobody on the train moved...One woman called her children back, not wanting to let them get too close. I watched her for a second, then went over to ask her what was wrong.

She introduced herself as Felicity. She told me she had been mugged, and gone to the police who wouldn't listen, and forced her into a hospital because she was 'freaking out' (she admitted to me that she had 'shot up' that morning, but that dosen't mean her story had no validity). From the hospital, she had called her boyfriend who said he'd be there in an hour...three hours later, she decided to leave.

By the time she had told me this, she was shaking and falling in and out of sleep. She thanked me profusely, stopped crying and gave me a beautiful silver and amethyst bracelt for listening (which I feel guilty for taking, but I gave her my number and promised we'd meet up for lunch in the near future) I stayed with her till Ivanhoe, and she realised she'd missed her stop, so I took her round to the other platform.

She also told me she had 5 children whom she'd lost custody of after a suicide attempt, and that she was homeless. She'd been in violent relationships since she was 16. Keep in mind, this girl was almost a foot shorter than me, and thin as a rake.

But still, what blows my mind is the way people on that carriage looked at her. What the fuck kind of world do we live in?

Anyway, forgive my rant, and best of luck to Felicity.

-Madison