warning beep signals the closure

Friday, 12 th of October.

The discount card is stamped, the money taken.

The cafe is quiet today, it is Friday. There are

just the two service people behind the bar, the

big bald man with the beard, and the small

woman with the mole on her chin. They both

wear yellow T-shirts, that is part of the cafe

uniform.

Take the coffee to the small table where the

customers can serve ihemselves with lids,

and, if they wish, put sugar and milk into

their coffee.

Put a lid on the coffee, make it snap into mud.

There is a hole in the lid, an aperture to allow

drinking, but most of the top surface of the

mug is sealed, preventing spillage. There

is a taste of paper cup and plastic in the

coffee, this is not a perfect solution.

check the telephone for mail, there is a job

that is something that will need to be dealt with later. There is no news today.

At six, get up from the small table in the

eofe‘s waiting room and go to platform No. 6.

The way via the long subterranean tunnel is

empty today, and there is nobody on the platform yct. Look at the clock, it is two

minutes early. The small diesel train is just

coming into the station, all the way over on

platform one. It is from Miihtdof. It will

leave again in ten minutes to head on To

Rosenheim, a small track with no

electrification.

Now the platform fills, commuters leaving

the small train come over to continue their

journey towards Munich.

But there are still few people on the platform

compared to yesterday. It really must

be because of Friday.

When the train arrives, watch the people

gather at the doors, waiting for them to

open. Wait untill they have all boarded the

near-empty train, then walk across the

platform, entering just as the warning beep signals the closure of the doors.