Three minutes

Thursday, 11th of October 2018

listen to the banter in the café, the big man

with the yellow shirt is teasing the young

woman, bath behind the counter, both enjoying

a lull in the flow of customers. Her name is

Andrea, and she has heavy black-rimmed

glasses.

The cafe is bright, almost glaring, fluorescent

tubes hidden behind white translucent plastic

panels, diode spots in the cieling over the

serving area. It is all very clean with

tall stacks of paper cups behind the counter.

It is hard work now for the people on service,

it will be easier later when the morning rush

hour has passed.

Sit at the table, watch the building workers come

and go, watch th fussy man go to the counter for

his second and third cup of coffee. He always

uses his own cup.

On the way to the platform, pass the

Jehovah's nitnesses standing beside their

trolley in the basement. They have a stock of

pamphlets, which they give away, written

works describing and explaining their faith.

On the platform the train is just coming m,

board it as soon as it stops. From the

seat in the carriage, the next platform is

visible. It is illuminated with newly-erected

diode lamps, they have a comparitively more cyan colour than the lights an all

of the other platforms.

That bluely-lit platform is pristine; it

is brand new. There are no spots of chewing gum on its surface, all is clean

and neat. And, all in that strange cyan

light.

The other passengers in the carriage

are sleeping, lying back in their seats with

their eyes closed, one has shaded his

eyes from the fluorescent yellow glare in

the carriage with the hood of his jacket.

The television screen by the exit of

the train shows that the next stop will

be Moosburg, at six eighteen, in

three minutes.

And ten minutes after that, the train

will be in Freising.