The World Within the Train Door

Now, what do you make of this?

Beijing South Railway Station, a veritable sea of people. Those catching trains, seeing people off, running with suitcases, staring at phones – the very air was thick with a sense of frantic urgency, as if the Earth would stop spinning if you were a step too slow. Sun Xiuzhi was wedged in this throng, sweat pearling on her forehead, her eyes fixed intently on the entrance gate.

Her old man, Lao Li, had said he was just going to buy a couple of bottles of water, but the train was about to depart, and there wasn't a sign of him. Sun Xiuzhi's heart felt like a trapped rabbit, pounding away. This train, back to their hometown, their daughter was getting engaged – how could a mother not be anxious? The tickets, their daughter had fought tooth and nail online to get them. Missing this train? There wouldn't even be a place to cry.

"Attention passengers, boarding for train GXXX will soon close..." The syrupy-sweet female voice on the PA system, usually pleasant, now sounded more terrifying than a death knell to Sun Xiuzhi's ears. She stood on her tiptoes, neck craned like an anxious goose.

The flow of people beside her began surging into the carriages. The staff at the gate looked ready to pull the barrier rope. Sun Xiuzhi gritted her teeth, steeled her nerves, forgot about Lao Li for the moment, and charged forward, dragging her scuffed, half-new suitcase. Its wheels protested unhelpfully, "ka-da, ka-da," clicking in rhythm with her pounding heart.

She finally squeezed onto the platform and found her carriage. By the door, a young man in uniform was waving his hand, urging everyone to board quickly. "Di-di-di—" The warning chime for the closing doors sounded, and the doors began to slide smoothly together.

Just at this critical juncture, Sun Xiuzhi's sharp eyes spotted a familiar figure panting and running towards them at the far end of the platform, clutching two water bottles – who else could it be but her Lao Li!

"Hey! Lao Li! Over here!" Sun Xiuzhi yelled at the top of her lungs, but her voice was lost in the platform's din and the insistent beeping.

Watching the gap between the doors shrink rapidly, Sun Xiuzhi didn't know where the impulse came from – perhaps sheer desperation, perhaps the conviction that she couldn't leave Lao Li behind – she suddenly lunged forward and stuck one of her legs, straight and determined, right into the path of the closing doors!

"Hey! What are you doing?!" The young train attendant yelped, startled, and quickly slammed the emergency button. The closing doors halted with a jolt, stopping barely a finger's width from Sun Xiuzhi's leg.

Well, that really stirred up a hornet's nest.

People already seated inside the carriage craned their necks out, voices rising in a chorus of complaints: "What's going on? Why aren't we moving?" "What's wrong with this person? Holding up the whole train for herself!" "So rude!"

The young attendant's face flushed crimson, a mixture of urgency and anger. "Ma'am! Please pull your leg back immediately! This is extremely dangerous! The entire train is waiting for you!"

Sun Xiuzhi, neck stiff with defiance, one hand gripping the doorframe tightly, pointed with the other towards the still-running Lao Li. "My husband! My husband is almost here! Just one minute! Let him on!" Her voice was loud, tinged with tears, as if she were the victim of some terrible injustice.

Lao Li finally stumbled up, practically tumbling as he arrived, and froze when he saw the scene. One of the water bottles slipped from his grasp and clattered onto the platform floor.

"Quick! Get on!" Sun Xiuzhi grabbed Lao Li's arm, trying to haul him aboard.

The attendant and several other staff members who had rushed to the scene surrounded them, trying to simultaneously reason with Sun Xiuzhi and pull her away. The situation became momentarily chaotic.

"He cannot board! The departure time has passed!" declared someone who looked like the train conductor, his tone severe. "Ma'am, please cooperate with us and leave the doorway area immediately. Your actions have seriously disrupted the train's operational schedule!"

"I bought tickets! Why won't you let him on? My husband was just a step away!" Sun Xiuzhi argued relentlessly, feeling entirely justified. She seemed to have forgotten that she was the one physically blocking the door. In that moment, she felt as though the entire world was conspiring against her.

The surrounding passengers grumbled even louder. Some took out their phones and began recording, the lenses aimed at Sun Xiuzhi's flushed face and the leg still wedged in the door gap. Sun Xiuzhi felt those cameras like spotlights, mercilessly illuminating the panic, anxiety, and stubbornness within her, leaving her exposed and with nowhere to hide.

Lao Li stood helplessly to the side, wringing his hands, muttering, "Sorry, so sorry, it's my fault, I was late..." But no one was listening to him.

Finally, two uniformed police officers arrived. Through a combination of persuasion and gentle force, they managed to dislodge Sun Xiuzhi from the doorway. The doors slammed shut with a decisive "thump," and the train immediately began to glide slowly away.

Sun Xiuzhi and Lao Li, along with the fallen water bottle, were left standing on the rapidly emptying platform. The place, so noisy just moments before, fell into an unnerving quiet. Only the relentlessly sweet voice from the overhead speakers continued its broadcast, announcing details for the next departing train.

Sun Xiuzhi watched the rear end of the departing train disappear into the distance, and then suddenly let out a loud sob, "Waaaaah!" It wasn't because she'd missed the train, nor was it fear of the potential "investigation and consequences." It was sheer, pent-up frustration and exhaustion. All day long, rushing, stressing, wound up tight like an alarm clock – slacken the pace even slightly, and it felt like you'd fall hopelessly behind. All she wanted was to get her breathless husband onto the train. How had that turned her into the culprit?

Lao Li silently picked up the dropped water bottle, dusted it off, unscrewed the cap, and handed it to Sun Xiuzhi. "Have some water," he said softly. "Look how worked up you got."

Sun Xiuzhi took the bottle but didn't drink. She just stared blankly at the brand logo printed on the plastic, as if it held some profound, unsolvable mystery.

"Come on," Lao Li sighed. "Let's go ask if there are any tickets left for the next train."

Sun Xiuzhi didn't move. She gazed at the spot where the train door had closed – that cold, unyielding slab of metal. Inside that door was a world operating on perfect time, governed by strict rules and orderly procedures. Outside were she and Lao Li, their hearts crammed full of the anxieties and pressures of their hurried lives. She suddenly felt that the leg she had thrust into the doorway wasn't just a leg; it was more like a futile act of struggle, a faint protest against this world that moved too fast, leaving you gasping for breath.

But what could such a protest achieve, really, other than causing a scene and attracting scornful looks?

A breeze blew across the deserted platform, carrying a slight chill. Sun Xiuzhi wiped her face, took Lao Li's arm, and dragging the suitcase that still clicked and clattered, walked silently towards the service counter. Her silhouette looked remarkably small beneath the immense dome of the station. It was as if the minor commotion moments ago had been nothing more than an insignificant echo in this concrete and steel jungle, destined to be quickly swallowed up and forgotten amidst the next wave of noise and relentless activity.

This world, sometimes it truly feels like a perfectly sealed machine. Deviate even slightly from its prescribed path, and you risk being ground to bits by its gears. Sun Xiuzhi didn't understand grand theories like that. She just felt… a heavy tightness in her chest.